Realtors on Martha’s Vineyard are used to answering a lot of questions. What’s the best town to buy in? Is there room for expansion? What amenities are available year round?
But a new line of inquiry has crept in recent months: ticks.
With the Island facing an epidemic of tick-borne illnesses, real estate offices from across the Vineyard said clients are now routinely asking about the pests as part of their search for a home.
While realtors don’t seem to think the arachnids will scare off would-be property owners in the long-run, all confirmed that homebuyers are thinking about them, forcing realtors to have conversations about protective measures.
“It seems everyone is talking about them,” Julie Flanders of Flanders Up-Island Real Estate wrote to the Gazette. “[The discussion is] mostly prompted by national media coverage and local articles, but my clients do discuss the matter.”
The Island’s ticks have made national news this year, particularly as Vineyarders contend with the rise of alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy to mammalian food products transmitted by the bite of a lone star tick. The New York Times, the New Yorker and CNN have all explored ticks’ impact on Vineyard life and how Islanders are mobilizing to keep themselves safe.
“I think that [for] some people, it’s made them pause on their home search here on the Island, but overall, I really don’t think there’s going to be a negative impact or [fewer] sales in the long run,” said Jen O’Hanlon, senior vice president at Compass Real Estate.
Mark Jenkins, a senior broker at Wallace & Co. Sotheby’s, said that he frequently fields questions from clients about ticks. He tries to assuage clients’ concerns by providing them with useful information about limiting ticks’ presence on the property.
“People ask the question, and the reality is that a lot of my seller clients have programs in place to deal with ticks, whether they mow or spray or whatever,” Mr. Jenkins said. “A lot of that information we pass along.”
According to Ms. Flanders, clients have curiosities about what programs are in place on Island to lessen the burden of ticks. While an effort led by nonprofit Tick Free MV is underway to reduce the Island’s tick population by reducing the number of deer, which are the ticks’ main reproductive hosts, she said she works with buyers who want to know about lawn treatments and personal protection methods.
“Most of my clients are already connected to the Island and have been coming here for some time so it is a more pragmatic discussion,” Ms. Flanders said.
Ms. O’Hanlon added that ticks could be leading clients to look for more well-manicured and less woodsy properties.
“Some people might be shifting what they want to buy on the Island. Maybe they don’t want a property that’s heavily wooded,” she said.
But many realtors don’t see ticks having a significant long-term impact on the real estate market on the buying or selling side, particularly because of how much people love the Island.
“The tick issue has not impacted my business that I am aware of,” Ms. Flanders wrote.
Mr. Jenkins said that while it may be tempting to jump to the conclusion that ticks are scaring off buyers en masse, he doesn’t feel they are reducing demand for Island real estate. He said recent big-ticket home sales on the Island offer evidence of this. Earlier this month, a compound in Katama sold for $43 million.
“It’s a great story — that everything’s changing and people are not buying stuff anymore, and everybody’s selling because of ticks — but it’s not the reality,” Mr. Jenkins said.
Market data also indicates sustained and rising demand for Vineyard property. The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, which collects a fee for most Island real estate transactions, reports more than $5 million in revenue so far this fiscal year across 302 transactions — a number up roughly 23 per cent for the same time period last year. Median and average home price on the Island also hit all-time highs on the Island this year.
While Ms. Miller said some clients list ticks among the reasons they’re selling their Island home, she’s never seen it be the sole deciding factor.
“Ticks might get thrown into that justification, but it’s certainly not number one,” she said.
She added that it’s important to remember that the Vineyard is not the only community dealing with ticks and alpha-gal.
“There are 14 states that recognize alpha-gal, but they don’t have the cachet of Martha’s Vineyard,” she said.
As for being open with clients about ticks, Ms. O’Hanlon said she’s always happy to do it.
“I think it’s actually a good conversation to have,” she said. “People really need to be informed and educated and understand that it’s only a problem if you’re not taking precautions.”
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