With miles of beaches and ocean vistas, the Cape Ann communities of Gloucester and Rockport MA have permanent spots on the short list of MA’s “most wanted” ocean addresses. Nationwide, real estate parcels with water views are selling briskly and the Cape Ann market is no different. Over the last decade, 2005 and ’06 had the highest # of $1M+ “water” sales at 26 and 24 respectively. 2010 currently has 21 closed $1M+ transactions and 2 more that should close before the year is out. 2007, ’08 and ’09 bottomed out with 16, 17 and 16 sales.
The median $M+ sales prices on Cape Ann peaked in 2006 at $1.71M and is currently at $1.38M, about 20% less.
What’s it all mean? Sellers have finally aligned their pricing expectations and savvy buyers are getting “ocean views” for a lot less. Look for 2011 to be the year we’ll be talking about some day as in “I wish I had bought in ’11”.
