Brant Point and Harbor Kite Antenna and Coatue, Nantucket, MA.
J. Greg Hinson, MD, www.ackdoc.com | Instant | Getty Images
The small island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, is home to some 14,000 year-round residents. Joining their ranks will cost you at least $1 million, according to a new list of luxury real estate markets from Realtor.com.
Nearly all of Nantucket’s active listings are valued at $1 million or more, with a median listing price of $4.08 million, according to the real estate platform. The island averages $138 million in listings annually, according to the report.
Vineyard Haven, a community located in neighboring Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, has the second highest concentration of million-dollar listings, accounting for 90% of active listings, with a median listing price of $2.4 million. Jackson, the main city in Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Valley, has the third highest median price at $1.75 million.
Realtor.com identified 13 U.S. real estate markets where at least half of active listings were valued at more than $1 million, but with fewer than 500 such listings. Anthony Smith, senior economist at Realtor.com, said the list was designed to highlight “pure luxury” markets rather than areas that reflect high regional housing costs.
Most of these real estate markets are defined by scarcity, according to Smith. Pioneers, Nantucket and Vineyard Haven, are great examples because they are both located on islands.
“You have limited land, strict building and preservation codes, and that combination puts a real premium on what’s available,” he said.
That scarcity also applies to noncoastal centers such as Jackson, he said, where land is abundant but much of it set aside for conservation. Only 3% of Jackson Hole’s land is privately owned.
While five of the luxury hubs identified by Realtor.com are in California, the others are scattered across the country, from Kapaa, Hawaii, to Hailey, Idaho. Petoskey, Michigan is a notable inclusion on the list, where 53% of active listings cost more than $1 million. Although it doesn’t carry the same notoriety as Nantucket or Napa, the Lake Michigan city checks a lot of boxes for deep-pocketed buyers, Smith said.
“When you look at what defines a luxury market, it’s all there: Little Traverse Bay waterfront views, winter ski access, resort lifestyle,” he said.
He added that Petoskey is one of the most affordable markets on the list, with a median price of $1.1 million.
The top 1 percent of homes in Petoskey — representing the ultra-luxury market — start at just under $8 million, while the same threshold starts at nearly $59.2 million in Rifle, Colorado (also on Realtor.com’s list), about 70 miles from Aspen.
As higher-income consumers increase their spending in travel and other categories, the luxury real estate market is showing signs of weakness, like the overall real estate market, according to Smith.
The luxury threshold, or 90th percentile of homes, stood at $1.25 million nationally in March, down 2.9% year over year, while the overall median price is down 2.2% year over year, according to Realtor.com.
However, prices firmed up in the spring in all real estate sectors, with the luxury threshold rising by 3.7% and the overall market rising by 3% compared to February.