“I’m a nester,” part-time Island resident Catherine Urban admits as she walks through the cozy three-bedroom West Chop cape that she and her family rented for the first time last summer.

Karla Araujo

It might sound elementary, but a good look at a map is the best first step toward mastering the Island’s quirky geography.

Karla Araujo

The off-season on Martha’s Vineyard is often peppered with news of real estate transactions and speculation.

Karla Araujo

The word on the street regarding the Island’s current real estate sales market is “cautiously optimistic.” While we may not soon see a return to the boom times of five-plus years ago, Vineyard real estate professionals report that the market is definitely trending up.

“The market is healthy compared to 2009,” says Meg Bodnar, a sales associate at Tea Lane Associates of West Tisbury and Chilmark. In fact, she says, three of her last five sales transactions resulted in bidding wars.

Karla Araujo

The Oscar-winning actor was one of the first celebrity residents on the Vineyard, and today his former Chilmark homestead retains its charming rural character.

Karla Araujo

The word on the street regarding the Island’s current real estate sales market is “cautiously optimistic.”

Karla Araujo

The devastating effects of the Norton Point opening on one couple’s home.

Tom Dunlop

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