Nantucket Mansion Sales Go Through the Roof
Real estate sales on the island surpassed $1 billion in 2014.
So what does $27.1 million get you on Nantucket these days?
A five-bedroom, 6,000-square-foot house on a 1.5 acre lot that wouldn’t draw a second glance in the most upscale Boston suburbs, judging from the record-breaking sale of 9 Kimball Ave.
The recent sale of the late business tycoon Richard Mellon Scaife’s Nantucket estate fetched more dollars than any other single-family home in the history of the island’s gold-plated real estate market.
It is the latest in a mansion sales boom that propelled residential real estate sales on Nantucket past the $1 billion mark in 2014, latest stats show.
That’s the highest total since the height of the last real estate boom in the mid-2000s. An even bigger bang is expected in 2015 as prices on the island soar.
“Most of the market metrics look as good as they did pre-downturn,’’ said Jennifer Shalley, Windwalker Real Estate’s research director.
The $27 million sale of the relatively modest Scaife estate was one of three $20 million-plus sales that popped as 2014 drew to a close.
The 100-acre estate of horticulturalist Bunny Mellon fetched more than $21 million in mid-December, while 33 Squam Road sold for $20.9 million in September.
All told, eight homes sold for over $10 million in 2014, the highest number since 2006, Shalley said.
The Mellon estate is also modest, featuring a sprawling Cape-style compound, but comes with 100 acres of rolling, conservation protected land on the waterfront.
The $20.9 million Squam Road estate, sold by Bernard Chiu, founder of Boston-based startup First Act, is lavish by comparison, with a seven-bedroom, 11-bath main house and a smaller guest house. New York hedge fund mogul Reade E. Griffith is the new owner, the Nantucket Island Inquirer reported.
So why would anyone pay $27.1 million for a 1.5 acre spread, which was the case with the chart-topping 9 Kimball Ave. deal?
It all boils down to location, with the Lincoln Circle area highly coveted, even by superrich Nantucket standards. While 1.5 acres may sound like peanuts, it’s a large lot for that area, with some privacy as well, Shalley said.
“You are upon a cliff overlooking Nantucket Sound – it’s a spectacular vista,’’ she said. “That is what you are paying for.’’
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