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HERE COMES THE SUN Somehow, this spring seems especially welcome after the past two years. The early daffodils are in full bloom, the forsythia is about to pop and the sun actually has some warmth to it (when the wind is not blowing!). We are enjoying being outside again and re-connecting with friends from near and far. The escalation in real estate activity and prices that began in early summer of 2020, driven largely by the pandemic, appears to be shifting. The average number of sales on Nantucket between 2017 and 2020 was 521 per year; in 2020 there were 679 sales; in 2021 there were 825 sales - an all-time high. Nearly two years' worth of inventory closed last year (an increase of 22% over the previous year), leaving the lowest number of properties for sale ever on Nantucket. This is the case, not just on Nantucket but also in many other sought after communities. Total sales dollars for 2021 were $2,336,000,000 ($2.336 billion, an increase of 23%), the first year ever that real estate sales on Nantucket exceeded $2 billion dollars. So far in 2022 - the number of transactions are down 40% compared to Q1 of 2021, and the dollars are down 21%. It is more accurate to look at 2019, prior to the pandemic, to understand where we are now. The first quarter of this year tracks very similarly to 2019 when there were ninetyone sales ($152 million) compared to 94 sales this year ($276 million). Because of the frenzied real estate activity in 2020 and 2021, we continue to experience low inventory, high demand, and rising prices. Due to the foresight of people beginning in the 1960's, nearly 70% of Nantucket is forever preserved (Land Bank, Conservation Foundation and deed restrictions). This is a huge benefit to the community but has also put more economic pressure on what remains. The average selling price of all properties on Nantucket is $2,941,000 (+4%). The average selling price of a house is now $3,719,000 (+8%) and the median house price is $3,363,000 (30%). Vacant land is selling, on average, for $2,316,000 (+61%) Continued on Page 2... and the median price of land is $1,154,000 (+5%).