Building a Parallel Real Estate Market on Nantucket
May 23, 2025 – Even with Nantucket’s 2025 median family income at $163,500, the island’s $3.73 million1 median home price puts ownership—and often even a stable rental—out of reach for most year-round households. That disconnect lies at the heart of Nantucket’s housing crisis, and it’s exactly what Housing Nantucket is working to address.
What is a Parallel Real Estate Market?
In Nantucket’s unique housing landscape, a new term is emerging: the Parallel Real Estate Market. This concept describes a distinct subset of the island’s housing options, operating alongside the traditional open market. Unlike unrestricted properties, this parallel market comprises homes with deed restrictions or programmatic requirements that ensure they remain accessible to year-round residents.
Defining the Parallel Real Estate Market
The Parallel Real Estate Market includes housing units intentionally separated from the open market through tools such as permanent deed restrictions or residency and income-based eligibility. These homes serve Nantucket’s year-round community—including local workers and families—by maintaining affordability and occupancy standards that support the island’s long-term stability.
Why This Market Matters
The Parallel Real Estate Market is more than a policy concept—it’s a lifeline for Nantucket’s year-round economy. Teachers, tradespeople, healthcare workers, nonprofit staff, and municipal employees are all essential to the island’s daily functioning, yet many face unstable housing, seasonal displacement, or off-island commutes. By securing homes for these workers, the parallel market helps preserve the island’s social and economic fabric.
How It’s Built
Nantucket’s parallel real estate market has developed through several key strategies:
- Deed-Restricted Ownership
Programs such as Housing Nantucket’s Covenant Program, 40B developments, Workforce Homeownership initiatives, and Habitat for Humanity enable eligible year-round residents to purchase homes below market rate. These properties include permanent resale restrictions to preserve long-term affordability. - Income-Qualified Rentals
Housing Nantucket’s affordable rental program provides stable, below-market housing for year-round residents. The Lease to Locals program complements this by incentivizing property owners to convert underused homes into year-round rentals. These units are part of a broader inventory that also includes rentals created through zoning density bonuses and other subsidy programs—all designed to meet the diverse needs of Nantucket’s workforce. - House Recycling and Adaptive Reuse
Relocating or repurposing existing homes into the protected market minimizes costs and adds to the inventory with sustainability in mind. - Public-Private Partnerships
When the Town provides land at little or no cost, private and nonprofit developers—often with philanthropic backing—can create housing that would otherwise be financially unfeasible, further expanding the parallel real estate market.
A Tool for Unity, Not Division
One of the greatest strengths of the term Parallel Real Estate Market is its ability to unify rather than divide. In practice, many types of housing fall under this umbrella—homes restricted to 80%, 110%, or 150% of AMI, or simply limited to year-round occupancy without any income cap. It also includes programs like Lease to Locals and Housing Nantucket’s affordable rentals.
Rather than emphasizing technical distinctions, the term helps reduce stigma and perceived segregation. For the layperson, knowing a home is part of the Parallel Real Estate Market is enough—it signals that the unit exists to support Nantucket’s year-round community. The technical details—such as the type of deed restriction—can remain in the hands of housing professionals. What matters most is that these homes belong to a shared, community-centered system of housing stability.
Join Us in Building a Market that Serves the Community
The traditional market won’t fix this problem on its own. Adding homes to the Parallel Real Estate Market is a proactive step toward keeping Nantucket livable for year-round residents. By supporting this work, we can build a balanced, inclusive housing ecosystem—one that honors Nantucket’s heritage while meeting the needs of its full-time community.
Support our work at housingnantucket.org/donate.
