It’s official: Martha’s Vineyard is among the country’s most desirable places for second homes, according to Barron’s. This year, the Vineyard ranks third, behind the Hamptons, N.Y. and Kauai, Hawaii. Not that this will send most year-round Islanders into self-congratulatory dances in the aisles of Stop & Shop and Chicken Alley. Particularly in these trying economic times, many Vineyarders are pressed to afford the next tankful of gas, rent or first mortgage payment, let alone a second home.

The attraction of Martha’s Vineyard is something we all can agree on. Practically anyone who has been to or lived on the Island, natives, tourists and seasonal residents alike, appreciates and acknowledges the Vineyard’s physical and spiritual uniqueness.

Moreover, there has long been a mutually beneficial relationship between fulltime Islanders and people who for a variety of reasons can live here only part of the year. To be pragmatic, many Vineyarders rely on the dollars that come each summer with the influx of second-home residents.

However, both groups now face a common foe: the dismal housing market.

Barron’s reports that the median price for second homes on the Vineyard is down 44 per cent from the year before. Like the housing market in general, this is bad news for people trying to sell their homes, but good news for people with the resources to buy a second home in a resort location.

In the good news for all category, though, Barron’s is predicting that the second-home market “is firming up ... We see that as a pretty strong indicator that the bottom has been hit.”

This projected increased activity in the real estate market – no matter what the cause — has a positive ripple effect throughout the Island’s economy, generating work for real estate agents, contractors and landscapers as well as service workers.

Around the Island, we are seeing signs of renewal. Let’s hope the real estate market gets an early spring.