Nantucket Island Massachusetts Directory of Real Estate Resources

All you need for the nantucket rental market from locals who need something year round to the best beach houses on the water.

This year, last-minute renters are in luck in most destination resort areas.

Renters seem to be the beneficiaries of changing American vacation habits, quirks of weather and, in many resort areas, a swelling supply of luxury rental properties.

While real estate prices have shot up, rental prices have, for the most part, held steady from Cape Cod to Lake Tahoe.

Prices have been pretty much flat,” says Krae Van Sickle, a broker with Allan Schneider Associates in the Hamptons.

But last-minute bargains are also, for the most part, rare. And some of the best properties will be gone by the time the season begins.

The summer-rental market is a fragmented one, dependent on local conditions and fashions–the cold weather …

From the coast of Maine to Martha’s Vineyard, realtors are reporting significant drops in all kinds of vacation rentals, giving last-minute planners a feast of options this summer.

As temperatures dropped to the 40s and a northeaster spread across the region last week, real estate agents grumbled that the harsh winter and gloomy spring are contributing to the decreased bookings, which are down 10 to 20 percent at some destinations.

‘’People have been so cold they haven’t been able to think that summer is actually coming,” said Sherry Purdy, owner of Sandpiper Realty in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard.

Until this month, Sandpiper’s vacation rentals had dropped close to 30 percent on Martha’s Vineyard. Now, the company, which handles about 700 properties, …

After a long, cold winter, Vineyard property owners are getting some welcome news: people are still willing to pay thousands of dollars a week to rent homes on the Island in summer.

“I’d say it’s just as strong as last year,” said David Cron, a partner at Island Real Estate in Vineyard Haven.

At Tea Lane Associates in West Tisbury, broker Mary Jo Goodrich also reports a strong market, with rents staying about the same.

“We are about on par with where we were last time,” said Judy Federowicz of Coldwell Banker Landmarks in Vineyard Haven.

“The places that have kept their rents in a good place, who have repeat tenants, they are pretty much fully booked,” said Ann Floyd …

These days the mantra in the real estate world is: Buying beats renting. And when it comes to vacation homes, Americans have been in a buying mode–but that doesn’t mean the rental market is taking a dive.

Second-home sales swelled last year, according to a study released recently by the National Association of Realtors. Sales of vacation properties rose nearly 20% from 2003 to 2004, to a total of 1.02 million. Nevertheless, Washington D.C.-based Travel Industry Association of America predicts that the vacation rental market overall will grow 67% in the next decade.

That means rental prices will only continue to rise. Years ago, a beach house in the Hamptons or Nantucket could be rented from Memorial Day to Labor …

Just got the word - we’ve gone from 350 vacation rental listings to over 700 in one year. And the website hasn’t crashed once with the added stress (although we have a few times)