Martha’s Vineyard

From the May issue: From the splashy beaches of the Hamptons to the rolling hills of the Berkshires, the vacation home markets popular with New Yorkers have been hit hard by the downturn.

But as the 2010 summer season gears up, reports indicate that things are turning around as the economy stabilizes and the threat of rising interest rates brings more buyers out of the woodwork.

This month, The Real Deal examined eight vacation home markets around the region. Of those, the South Fork of Long Island and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., show the sharpest recent rebounds in sales.

Rental figures are harder to come by, but anecdotally brokers across the eight markets said early leasing is up this year, while prices in most places are still below peak. This means last year’s rock-bottom deals will be harder to come by in low-inventory places like Fire Island, which brokers said they expect to be fully booked. However, in other areas, like the Berkshires, there are more rentals available as for-sale listings languish on the market.

In general, the tea leaves indicate that this summer might be the last to make that unbelievable deal. Below is a rundown of the region. [more]

The already-declining real estate market on the East End of Long Island took another major hit in the first quarter of 2009 as both sales volume and median prices dropped sharply. On this week’s Webcast, The Real Deal’s Jen Benepe talks to market analyst Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel, about the Hamptons report he released with Prudential Douglas Elliman last week. While Miller said he doesn’t think it’s time to “stick a fork” in the South Fork, he did say that in the five years that he’s been tracking data on the East End “it’s the largest decline in prices.” To watch the full Webcast click on the video below and to read the full market report click here.

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