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SPRING After a grey, windy, and rainy winter, it feels like spring is finally here. Longer days, the sun actually has some warmth to it and the daffodils are up all over the island. With the advent of spring comes our Annual Town Meeting, scheduled to start on May 7th. There are two articles, submitted by a citizen, which are generating the most buzz on Nantucket. Article 59 would codify the rental of one's private home in Nantucket's zoning by-law (and stop the neighbor against neighbor law suits) and Article 60 would ban any strictly corporate owned rentals going forward, which is something that should garner widespread support. We are urging people to support both articles. If you are registered to vote on Nantucket, it has never been more important to show up and have your voice heard. The real estate market on Nantucket is showing signs of renewed life with an uptick in the number of properties for sale (147 vs. 80 at the end of Q1 last year), giving more choices to buyers. Prior to the pandemic, the number of listings at the end of the first quarter averaged around 250. Although many people who purchase on Nantucket are able to do so without securing financing, there is no question that higher interest rates over the past few years have put a chill on the pace of sales on island. Nantucket is a discretionary market, and many potential buyers are waiting to see what happens with interest rates as we get deeper into 2024, however, when a quality property is listed, there are multiple buyers ready to go, some of whom may have missed out on other properties in the past. The number of sales through Q1 was statistically the same as last year (48). However, the dollars represented by these sales increased 28% over 2023. Total dollar volume was $208 million for Q1. The average home price on Nantucket climbed 8% from last year to $4,620,000 and the median home price is now $3,725,000. The average price of vacant land increased a staggering 125% from last year to $4.4 million; the median price of vacant land is up 44%. A cautionary word about these statistics - they are only for the first 3 months of the year and can be skewed by a few outlier sales. Continued on page 2...