Update From Avalon and Stone Harbor

How’s the summer?  Good question!

1) Sales are booming.  Certainly not what I expected  back in March.

Mortgage money is reasonable, and regular visitors to the area realize a beach house provides the ideal change of scenery for their family.  These are not impulse buys- the circumstances are the deciding factor for a buyer to move forward with a long planned dream.

2) Occupancy should remain high through the fall.  Remote working and schooling have provided property owners and tenants with flexibility.  I expect island businesses to stay open well past the typical season (subject to keeping their workforce).

3) Vacation Rentals- another plot twist to this summer.  In the spring, we had legitimate concerns about the viability of our rental season.  And as expected, a fair amount of  tenants cancelled (and we are still experiencing cancellations for various reasons).  The surprise was the high demand for last minute vacations (often for multiple weeks).  Thankfully, we’ve been able to fill most of the cancellations quickly.

4) Mask wearing- as the weeks go by, more people are adhering to the mask requirements. It’s not perfect, and I am still frustrated at the push back against such a reasonable request.  Seeing young children wearing masks is heartbreaking, yet kudos to the parents for establishing the routine.

An unusual summer for sure!