17 North Beach Street
Nantucket, MA 02554
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LOCAL ECONOMY TEMPERATURE CHECK
Cross currents suggest an uneven summer season.
story by Antonia DePace
When June rolled around and Nantucket’s summer season finally began, there was a looming question in the air: Would the island be as busy as it had been the past few years? Or would the economic headwinds impact us?
Emerging from the pandemic, summers on Nantucket were more popular than ever—in 2021, hotels were booked solid, dinner reservations were as hard to come by as parking spots and house rentals were packed. The airport ran out of jet fuel not once, but twice. But this year, with global destinations again wooing travelers afar—according to the World Tourism Organization, international arrivals reached 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2023—and abysmal weather occurring during the first weeks of the summer, it seemed that the Nantucket fever might have finally broken.
According to Sean Driscoll, communications director at the Steamship Authority, a total of 1,440,155 passengers had traveled from Hyannis to the Nantucket terminal as of July 21. This was up 3.1 percent compared to last year. Looking deeper into the numbers, however, there was a decrease in passengers taking the fast ferry compared to last year—off 17.4 percent in June and 19.9 percent in July. “The fast ferry decrease is likely tied to weather—it was pretty crummy just about every weekend through June and early July, and those trips tend to be shorter notice day-trippers or overnighters,” Driscoll says. He also notes that this year, the Authority only ran four trips instead of five on the fast ferry because of staffing.
The Nantucket Memorial Airport saw numbers that were consistent with those from pre-pandemic data thanks to an overall softening in activity throughout the 2023 fiscal year. Manager Noah Karberg indicated customers being more inclined to travel globally, as well as the unpredictable weather. “Operations were the lowest since 2021,” he says, adding, “The previous two fiscal years were themselves an anomaly, and far exceeded the long-term predictable growth pattern.” More specifically, operations (the number of aircraft coming and going from the airport) were down 12.2 percent from 2022, which matches a general decrease that’s been occurring since 2006 due to the ferry being a more affordable means of transportation to the island, especially as aviation costs continue to rise.
Rick Ulmer, owner of Rose & Crown, also saw a slight decrease in business—especially during lunch, which was down about 5 percent from last year. “Where we see it’s soft is the day-trippers. We don’t see as many day-trippers for lunch,” he says. Overall, the reduction isn’t too serious, especially with September seemingly staying on pace due to a busy wedding season of rehearsal dinners and welcome parties.
Fred Bisaillon, owner and chef at B-ACK Yard BBQ and The Charlie Noble, observes that the restaurants haven’t seen a tremendous change in business. He says, “I think it’s entirely possible there are less guests, but the ones we have are spending more time and money while here.”
While hotels like White Elephant claim to be staying on pace, real estate has experienced a greater struggle. According to Bobby Sabelhaus of Great Point Properties, the brokerage’s midyear report stated that rental leases are down 13.9 percent since 2018, the year that represents the brokerage’s highest total of leases for the last five years. “The big takeaway from the rental data is we’re doing fewer leases in 2023, but with longer terms this year as opposed to 2018,” Sabelhaus says, noting that the average days per lease are tracking at 13.56 compared to 11.76 in 2018.
In terms of sales transactions, house sales were down 40 percent while land sales were reduced to 57 percent. “We’re currently experiencing record-low housing inventory along with the average listed price on the island at $6,450,000. In the second quarter of 2018, there were around 250 properties for sale, and in the second quarter of 2023, there’s been a significant drop to 143,” Sabelhaus explains. “There is no doubt that high interest rates and high prices are creating a headwind for buyers to purchase a home on the island.”
Some records were made, however—more recently with the sale of 20, 21 and 22 Berkeley Avenue for $38,127,500. Not only did the Monomoy estate break the island’s previous record sale, but it also broke the Massachusetts record for a single residential home sale.
It will not be possible to get a truly accurate picture of the 2023 season until the end of the year, but all indications suggest a slower local economy, but not surprising when measured against an unusually robust post-COVID rebound.
The question that merchants, restaurants and others will be asking is whether the high costs associated with living and visiting Nantucket is beginning to take its toll or whether the slowdown is simply a much needed breath of fresh air—only time will tell.
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