I’m Dreaming of a White Nantucket

Nantucket Cottage

Nantucket Cottage

New England weather can be unpredictable and sometimes treacherous to say the least. And when you live on a small island 30 miles out to sea, you learn to keep a sharp eye on the weather reports.

There is always a loud buzz around town a few days before a storm is scheduled to hit Nantucket Island. Who needs to leave? Who needs to get here? Do I send my car off? Is the Steamship Authority canceling boats? Everyone rearranges their ferry reservations and rental cars. They call Nantucket Airport, the Steamship Authority and Hyline Cruises every few minutes to see if the boats and planes are running.

Finally with new reservations, back-up plans and exit strategies in place, everyone waits to see what happens. Sometimes it comes and sometimes it doesn’t.

Saturday night, hours after the storm was scheduled to hit, I was having dinner with a couple friends at Pi Pizzeria. When I pulled up to the restaurant, it was windy, but no snow. We sat and chatted for a while and when we were ready to order, I looked out the window and there was still no snow. Our pizzas arrived, and still no snow. Finally, as we paid our tab, I looked again and saw thousands of snow flakes whizzing sideways by the window, as if were traveling through space.

It snowed and snowed and snowed and I had the privilege of waking up Sunday morning to this lovely scene in my yard.  To find your picturesque Nantucket winter rental, use our Rental Search Tool!

Nantucket Real Estate Market Update – November

With the Turkey Plunge and Christmas Stroll in the rear view mirror, another Nantucket summer seems just around the corner (oh the power of wishful thinking). It was just this time last year that many were speculating as to what degree the precipitous financial collapse would affect the Nantucket’s high end real estate market.  Now that we have tallied most all of the 2009 sales, we know that 30 miles out to sea wasn’t quite far enough away for seeking shelter.  But, the full year results for Nantucket may not be as bad as some predicted and recent activity suggests positive developments on the journey to recovery.

The month of November brought in 40 transactions and $62 million in sales.  This is double the amount of activity seen in November 2008 both for the number of transactions and dollar volume.  While some may note that a comparison month sandwiched between the fall of Lehman and the Madoff scandal doesn’t amount for much, nearly ever sale that closed in November 2008 went under contract prior to the financial market’s domino game that began in September.  Perhaps more promising is that the November monthly average is down only 13 percent from the five year monthly average.

To keep reading, check out Windwalker’s Research page for the full report (available 12/18/2009).

Beautiful Nantucket Home Open House Saturday

Think You Can’t Afford a House on Nantucket? THINK AGAIN!

Please join us for an open house at 98 Hinsdale Road this Saturday, December 12, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. We will be serving hot cider and ham biscuits.

Nantucket Home for Sale

Please stop by and enjoy the amenities of these custom-built homes including:Nantucket Home Kitchen

  • Marble and granite countertops
  • Random width white oak flooring
  • Bead-board wainscoting
  • Stainless steel appliances
  • Maple cabinets
  • Large second floor landing/sitting area
  • Basement with separate entrance
  • Cathedral ceiling bonus room (Units B&C)
  • Single-car attached garage (Units B&C)
  • Attached 10X8 storage Shed (Units A&D)
  • Mahogany decking
  • Outdoor shower

Neighborhood Attractions: Delta Fields, Strongwings, Great Restaurants and Take-Out, Paddle Courts & More!

Contact Jennifer Shalley at Windwalker Real Estate for more details.

Selecting the Right Real Estate Agent

One of most important steps in entering into a real estate transaction, regardless of whether you are the buyer or the seller, is selecting a real estate agent that will best represent you.

Disclosure laws regarding the buying and selling of real estate property are very specific about whom a real estate agent represents. At the first personal meeting with a real estate agent, the agent is legally required to present the prospective buyer with an agency disclosure form, which clearly states whether the agent represents the buyer, the seller or both, known as dual agency.

Windwalker Real Estate prides itself on acting in the best interests of all of our clients. We protect your information, clearly disclose all relevant and required facts about properties and transactions, and loyally guide you from start to finish.

The New York Time recently published a cautionary article outlining how your real estate agent should be guiding you.

Windwalker is proud to say that we passed with flying colors! If you would like more information on purchasing or renting Nantucket real estate, please contact one of our trusted agents today.

Windwalker Food Drive

Last December, after the economy had taken a turn for the worse and there were so many people in the Nantucket community struggling, Windwalker Real Estate decided to do something different for the holiday season. We sent our clients a simple postcard, in lieu of our traditional holiday card, and made a generous donation to our local Food Pantry.

When we decided to continue the tradition this year, we asked our agents if they wouldn’t mind bringing in a couple non-perishable food items, so we could have a bag of groceries to bring along  when we walked over to the food pantry to drop off the donation.
Windwalker Real Estate Holiday Food DriveBoy did they answer the call of duty! Over the course of just two or three days, our office collected a dozen bags packed with all kinds of delicious food. So now we will be driving over to the Nantucket Food Bank with our donation and a car load of food. Talk about a food drive!

If you would like to make a donation to the Nantucket Emergency Food Pantry, you can drop off your items at 20 Fair Street, Nantucket, MA between 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Or you can call 508-228-7438 for more information.