Why this 'Billionaires' Isle' vacation hotspot sees house prices fall

House prices in Massachusetts's 'Billionaires' Isle' are in free-fall due to the increasing threat of beach erosion and water damage, realtors warn. Million-dollar mansions on the island of Nantucket are seeing their prices slashed by as much as $1 million on account of rising sea levels and severe beach erosion which is putting homes at risk of being washed away.

Nantucket, which sits 30 miles south of Cape Cod, has become a vacation hotspot for a litany of high-profile figures including Joe Biden and Kourtney Kardashian in recent years. But figures from Realtor.com show list prices for homes in the area tumbled 5.8 percent to $4,595,000 in the year to May.

DailyMail.com found one 4,522 square feet property located on Water Street has seen its price slashed by nearly $1 million. The 10-bed and 10-bathroom luxury mansion is a historic gem built in 1812 and is still fitted with many of its original details such as raised panel wainscoting, four panel doors with vintage hardware, wide pine and fir flooring. It also boasts multiple fireplaces, raised panel interior window shutters and multiple cast iron claw foot bathtubs as well as a roof walk. Yet the house has been listed on Zillow for about 130 days with no buyer in sight. It is currently priced at $4,850,000.

Another 2,628 square-foot property that has suffered major price slash of $755,000 is located on Main Street. The four-bed and four-bath single family residence is considered to be one of the most charming homes on the cobblestoned street. Priced at $5,995,000, the house is a short walk to the waterfront and has a patio as well as garden. In spite of its location and structure, the house has been on sale for nearly 100 days on Zillow. 

Realtor.com economist Hannah Jones said: 'Climbing inventory suggests that demand has faded in the area. 'Shoppers looking for a home in an area that faces serious climate-related risks may expect listing prices to be adjusted accordingly. When these risks loom large in buyers’ minds, homes are likely to spend longer on the market, and the homes that do sell may fetch a lower sale price.'

It marks an astonishing reversal in fortune for a once red-hot property market. The years-round population of Nantucket is 14,000 but over the summer months this balloons to 80,000, Business Insider reports. President Joe Biden spends Thanksgiving with his family in Nantucket every year. In 2023, his family stayed in the $34 million home of his billionaire friend David Rubenstein.

Meanwhile Kourtney Kardashian splashed out $,6,628 per night for her family and friends to vacation in a $50 million property on the island in 2020, according to People. She also rented a massive property to vacation in with her kids for the entirety of July 2017. However, the island has been hit by increasingly harsh winters which have brought with them strong storms and high winds, pulling sand away from beaches and contributing to erosion. It is a phenomenon hurting coastal property markets all across the U.S.

Billionaire Barry Sternlicht's Nantucket beach house had to be demolished due to erosion earlier this year. According to Business Insider, he had purchased 289 Hummock Pond Road for $610,000 in 2010 in a foreclosure sale. In 2019, Sternlicht (pictured) purchased 287 Hummock Pond Road for $1.3 million. But due to 60 feet of erosion caused by hurricanes Paulette and Teddy in 2020, both properties suffered severe damage and the town council ordered one of the two homes on the land demolished.

The other was placed onto steel girders, where it sat until it was razed in April 2024. Local architect and Sternlicht representative Matt MacEachern told the Nantucket Historic District Commission: 'His house was scheduled to be moved about four years ago, then there was significant erosion, a storm that resulted in about 30-plus feet of erosion. But basically there were really no options because all the land was eroded. We have talked to a number of different companies to try move the structure and they told us it’s just not possible.'

Shelly Lockwood of the real estate advisory firm Advisors Living whose family moved to Nantucket in the 1970s and lives all-year around also commented: 'People call me all the time and say, "It’s such a great house" and it is. But whether they should buy it is another story. I tell them, "If you can afford to lose the money—and some people can—then buy the house. If you’re comfortable with [having the house for] one, five, or 10 years—it probably won’t be 10—then go ahead and buy it. But you can’t believe it’s going to last".'

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