Attempts to get a reliable funding source for housing on Martha’s Vineyard fell short at the State House, meaning it will likely be at least two years before Islanders see a local transfer tax and housing bank.
The creation of the Martha’s Vineyard Housing Bank, which would be funded through a fee on high-end real estate transactions, has been a major priority for Vineyarders and the Island’s legislators.
But none of the bills that included provisions for the housing bank and transfer fee were approved before the latest legislative session wrapped up at the end of July. Islanders will now have to start efforts anew when lawmakers open the new session at the beginning of 2027.
“This is the end of the road for this session and we will have to try again in January,” said state Sen. Julian Cyr, one of the Island’s two representatives on Beacon Hill.
The median price of a home on Martha’s Vineyard in 2025 was $1.6 million, and each successive year brings more stories of people who have had to leave the Vineyard as prices continue to climb. Teachers commute from off-Island, police departments have seen officers take mainland jobs because of the cost of housing, and the people who do remain often see large portions of their salaries dedicated to keeping a roof over their heads.
In an attempt to remedy the housing crunch, Island voters petitioned the legislature for a transfer fee in 2022, and there have been many attempts to get the fee on the books in the years since. Gov. Maura Healey even threw her support behind a statewide fee in 2023, which would have allowed communities to institute a tax between .5 and 2 per cent on home sales over $1 million.
But the provisions have been met with resistance at the State House, and didn’t make it into the Affordable Homes Act that was passed in 2024.
While the Vineyard’s petitions continue to be considered by lawmakers, Mr. Cyr and the Vineyard’s state representative Thomas Moakley put forward new proposals to allow seasonal communities such as the Vineyard and Nantucket to implement transfer fees. They had hoped that the bill would find fewer opponents in the Greater Boston real estate lobby, but the measures were not included in the Mass Wins Act, which passed in July.
“We still face opposition from the statewide real estate lobby on any discussion of a transfer fee,” said Mr. Cyr.
The Vineyard’s legislators were disappointed that the transfer fee didn’t find success in this session, but said there are glimmers of hope moving forward.
The UMass Donahue Institute released a report in May that analyzed other resort communities that have a transfer fee. After looking at the Hamptons, the report suggested that the implementation of a fee would not meaningfully suppress sales of Martha’s Vineyard homes, and could inject $10 million annually toward housing efforts.
That will be important data to tout on Beacon Hill next year as lawmakers stump for the transfer fee, according to Mr. Moakley.
“I think that there actually are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the future [of the transfer fee],” he said.
The Cape and Islands lawmakers are looking at new strategies that could improve traction in the coming year, and said that the bills that were proposed this session seemed to get farther than they did in the past.
”We’re exploring any and all options,” Mr. Cyr said. “Islanders can’t afford to wait any longer for year-round housing.”
John Abrams, a member of the Coalition to Create the Martha’s Vineyard Housing Bank, said he always expected that it would be hard to get the transfer fee across the finish line. Big changes often take time. For instance, the Community Preservation Act, which also allows towns to dedicate funding to housing and other projects, took 20 years to pass, he said.
“For us, this has always been a long haul,” Mr. Abrams said. “We will get this through the legislature. We just don’t know when.”
This article appears in August 14, 2026.
Ever think people see this as just another 2% to make things worse? A tax? A contribution to a fund that will create more red tape? A network to put more people to work rather than create affordable housing?
Heaven forbid the state allow a local community to solve a local problem. Boston and Boston politicians think they know everything. Pffft!
“This is the end of the road for this session and we will have to try again in January,” said state Sen. Julian Cyr, one of the Island’s two representatives on Beacon Hill.
so, these politicians are not in session. its august? and they dont work again until january. so says the rep. his own words. think about that…..these 200 politicians, at the state house are not in session, so they are on vacation until january 2027.? yes. that another way of saying they are gone. on vacation…, they make me laugh… what a gig, eh?
Thank you!!!
For the life of me I just don’t get why the towns on Martha’s Vineyard thinks it can tax its way out of every problem. You never read much at all about cutting expenses. Just tax and fees. And why aren’t the STR taxes used to address affordable housing (I doubt it would help the overall issue much)? I read endlessly how STR have been a big part of the affordable housing issue. One would think, given that, the collected funds would then be earmarked accordingly. But nope. The towns just grabbed the money and spent it.
1/2 Land Bank fees —-> Housing bank.
Done.
Thank you to the legislation and you’ll rarely ever hear me say that! The center of this conversation is a living wage for workers and the burden of housing being placed on the business owner. Nobody wants to discuss that point though you never see it even in a single newspaper article. If you own business and housing your employees is not part of your business model then you will go out of business. It’s pretty straightforward. Stop listening to other people’s property so you can run your profit business. If you need housing municipal employees, then put it on a tax rate.
what is going on with all the buildings at the Y…..It’s ridiculous and the traffic, if they are full will be a nightmare…please stop the building for the health and welfare of our island….We are not a suburb….Those buildings are criminal…please do an article about them…..Stop the taxes and building
Unless you live in middle america there are no bargains. Housing is expensive everywhere and the solution is not to further tax those who worked hard, saved money, worked 2 jobs, and rented rooms in season to strangers in order to make ends meet. The difference here vs the rest of the USA is for non-skilled workers to make well above average wages. Big government picking the pockets of those who worked hard is not the answer. The capital gains tax on the sale of property is not fair as it is NOT indexed for inflation. Someone who worked hard, bought a home, and sells it is subject to big tax obligations. If you bought a home here in the 1970s and sold it today, even with the primary home exemption (250k single 500k married) and sell it todays market you could be obligated to EASILY pay $300,000 in taxes.. so much for that expected retirement money. If you want more homes on the market, which would lower prices, get rid of the capital gains tax on real estate held for 20+ years or at least index the gain for inflation. These tax policies force people hold on to their home and will it to their heirs (eventually) who will dispose of it. The only other possibility for retirement is to get a home equity loan to drain the equity.
Over the last twenty years what is the average annual increase in real-estate values?
Where people could afford to live twenty years ago does not mean they can do so today.
Your comment on people holding onto the property and Willing it to their heirs is exactly correct. Ironically the homeowners can’t put to good use the capital gains from their labors, while their heirs will enjoy an adjusted stepped up basis, having in the majority of cases contributed nothing. Most of the properties that have significant capital gains have been held for many years, all the while dealing with, ever increasing property taxes, meaningful running costs along with the significant maintenance costs of an island home from normal wear and tear, all without complaint. When you add everything up I’m not sure most homeowners actually make a profit when selling, in any case, with a few exceptions, it’s far less than people might think.
Affordable housing is allowed to bypass zoning laws. Imagine what could happen with endless funding.
My island born and raised children will have a place to live here?
Housing bank is a dandy idea if you’re willing to accept incredible and large scale density. It won’t pencil otherwise. What is happening next to the Y is a drop in the bucket. Ever wonder why we can’t take a 6,000sqft lot (let’s say even owned by the town) and build a 2 family? How about 50 of them? Nope! Because we are infatuated with the idea of SCALE and immediacy which ultimately looks like what we see at the Y complex.
What am I missing…..billed as a tax on “high end” real estate that starts on houses over $1M when the median house price on island last year was $1.6M? That tax will affect virtually every home sale on the island, it’s not a tax on the rich it’s a tax on almost anyone selling their property. When will people finely understand, you can’t tax people into prosperity, just the opposite, you strip them of their buying power. I’m willing to wager the bureaucracy associated with this new tax will cost more than the revenue generated.
Why is it the only thing Massachusetts politicians can actually accomplish is coming up with creative new ways of taxing its citizens, yet somehow there’s never enough money to solve the long standing problems.