July, at last! Summer’s here and everyone has an opinion on how you should spend your time here on the Cape. So little time, so many things to choose from! Whatever you do, don’t miss out on these classics….

Water, water everywhere: If wheels and walks aren’t your jam, watercraft is also about as Cape Cod as it gets. While Cape Cod Bay, Nantucket Sound, and the National Seashore are the obvious bodies of water, the Cape also boasts a ton of freshwater ponds and the Bass River. Take in the scenery from a new angle in a kayak or pedal boat, or subtly show off your killer core strength and impressive balance on a stand-up paddleboard. Either way, being out on the water is its own form of relaxation and meditation, with the added perk of seeing all the native flora and fauna. Am I the only one who yells, “bird” every time I see a bird? I think not. The Pump House in Orleans, Cape Cod Waterways in Dennis, and Down Cape in Harwich provide a variety of rental craft and locales to explore! 

The big screen (literally): One of my favorite memories of vacationing on the Cape was going to the drive-in. It didn’t matter if I’d seen the movie before -- there’s something so novel about watching it outside, wrapped up in a cozy blanket, occasionally heckling the out-of-state SUV in front of you for opening their tailgate halfway through the film. From choosing the perfect spot to park, to setting up the beach chairs and forgetting just how long Jaws really is, the drive-in is a must-do when you’re here on the Cape. This year especially, it’s a perfect way to enjoy the Cape while keeping a safe distance!
The Wellfleet Drive-In has been around since the 50’s and is a Cape Cod landmark in its own right! It has nightly showings during the summer, changing weekly. If you’re in the Mid-Cape region, both Yarmouth and Hyannis have screenings as well: Yarmouth’s calendar starts July 12th, and Hyannis is operating on Fridays into August. 

I could keep going about all the ‘quintessential’ Cape things to do -- mini-golfing, bridge traffic, waiting two hours for a table on a Saturday night. But truly, the heart of Cape Cod is all the people who choose to come here to make memories, be it for a week, the season, or their whole lives. So however you decide to fill your time here this summer, remember to wash your hands, wear your mask in public, and give people space wherever you can. This is a special place to spend any amount of time, so thank you for helping us keep our wonderful community healthy and thriving!

Check in next week, when I break down which beaches are the best for soaking up all this gorgeous sunshine.

Ahh, summer on Cape Cod. The thing we dream of all year long: breeze-kissed beaches, lobster rolls eaten on wooden picnic tables, and sitting in traffic on 6A behind someone who absolutely does not know how to take a left turn. 
And while “quintessential” is one of those words that I could easily go without ever hearing again, along with “unprecedented” and “the Big Lebowski,” there are a few activities that qualify as being quintessential Cape Cod things to do and live up to the hype (beaches and dining out are deserving of their own dedicated posts, so we’ll save those for another time).

Bike Rides: Have you ever really vacationed on the Cape if you haven’t spent at least one sweltering August afternoon, biking uphill both ways (somehow) on the Cape Cod Rail Trail? Bonus points if you have, or were, a patently miserable child riding one of those half-bike attachments (official name: Alleycat)! The bike path is a great socially-distant activity that really makes you appreciate nature, time spent with your loved ones, and how awful humidity is. 
Orleans and Eastham have bike rentals convenient to the bike path, or bring your own and park at any of the free CCRT lots. Be sure to call or check the websites for Covid-related policies currently in place. 
** A couple points of etiquette: as a cyclist, when you’re passing people on the trail, it is customary to give them a heads-up by saying, "on your left". When crossing the road, be sure to dismount, make sure traffic can see you and stops for you, and then walk across to the other side. As a pedestrian, you have the right of way, but if you cycle your bike across the road, you’re a cyclist and the oncoming cars get to decide whether to let you pass or not. **

Stroll & Snack: Maybe you’re like me, and years of summer cycle treks have left you scarred for life. Or maybe you prefer to avoid the parking lots that are routes 6, 6A, and 28. Either way, you’re happy to walk the trails, and if there’s a conveniently-located spot to get something to eat, what a delightful coincidence! Heading from Brewster to Eastham, Stone L’Oven, Snowy Owl Coffee Roasters, the Hot Chocolate Sparrow, and Arnold’s Lobster & Clam Bar are all bike-path adjacent places to pause your leisurely stroll and grab a delicious treat. Plus, it’s a long-standing Cape rule that any calories consumed during a walk or bike ride just don’t count. It is known. 

Stay tuned for part 2!
 

This year has already been ten years long, and we’ve still got six months to go. After an interminable spring spent in isolation, warmer weather has us all dreaming of getting away from it all. Preferably while lying on a beach, and drinking something cold and [...]

May Review:

  The May market felt continued pressure from COVID-19 resulting in uncharacteristically low new listings, closings and inventory. With so much pressure on the supply side, median sales price increased 6.4% from this time last year. Fortunately, Governor Baker's transition into phase 2 of reopening on June 8th has made both [...]

April Review:

  April certainly was a little unusual. When the Spring market should have been in full swing much came to a grinding halt instead. Closed sales were down 22% from April 2019 and saw a decrease from March 2020, which is unusual as well. We expect the trend of low sales to continue into May since the lagging indicator of number [...]

We don't know what this summer will bring exactly, but we are hopeful that it will look somewhat normal.  Here we'll keep you up to date with the latest news and information about vacationing on Cape Cod. We would also like to take a brief moment to express our thanks to those essential workers who are putting themselves at risk to keep us all safe and healthy. If you can give, here are some guidelines on giving wisely.

Update 6/8: Short-term rentals are now open as a part of phase 2 of the governor's reopening plan. See here for more information on the lodgings regulations --HERE--

Update 5/18: The governor has included short-term vacation rentals in phase 2 of his reopening plan. This may start as soon as June 8th. View our available vacation rentals here

Update 5/14: We are awaiting firm guidance on whether short-term vacation rentals can proceed. We expect this information to be released on May 18th

Local Information

Please see our page with links to each town on Cape Cod as well as the local chambers of commerce and Barnstable County.  These websites are updated frequently with town specific information and guidelines. In addition the local Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors has a very helpful page on short-term vacation rentals --HERE--.

Massachusetts Information

In addition to the general state level guidelines the local State Representatives and Governor's Office, in conjunction with a number of Cape Cod healthcare and business partners, put out helpful guidance to our seasonal visitors on the Cape.  The original can be found --HERE--.

National Information

The CDC has a lot of useful information, updated frequently

It’s May! Usually by this time, the Spring real estate market is well underway as everyone wants to be settled into their dream Cape home by the summer. Flowers are blossoming, I’m yelling at people doing the Bloom Run (don’t worry, it’s my parents), and all of my buyers are patiently enduring my lecture about putting in competitive offers [...]

Continuing our series on how to make the best of an unusual situation we bring back Amanda Bebrin for her thoughts.

Whether you’re still going to work, managing kiddos, working or taking classes from home, or just plain going stir crazy (or all of the above), everything can feel really overwhelming at the moment. So, if you could use some ideas to help fill these many, many hours in isolation, I’ve got your back.

Sweat it out:

The on-going difficulty of our lives generates a lot of stress, which is not good to carry around all day long. A handy way to stop thinking about how 2020 is a garbage fire is to do an activity so strenuous that you can’t think about anything else. Maybe you’ve heard about yoga? A cursory YouTube search will give you several year’s worth of content -- or, you can support a local studio like Power Yoga of Cape Cod, which is offering classes via Zoom throughout the week. The classes are rigorous and the wonderful instructors offer adaptations for a variety of skill levels. Plus, since you’re participating online, no one will notice when you lose your balance in downward-facing dog. 

Focusing on anything but memes and headlines:

Mental exertion is just as important as physical exercise, especially if it occupies your hands allowing you to put down your phone. Classics like chess, jigsaw puzzles, card games, and board games are being dug out of closets and basements all over the country (and immediately reminding you and your loved ones why you hid them away in the first place….sometimes it’s okay to let the children win at Connect 4, DAD!). Or, if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, this is the perfect moment to attempt whatever trendy craft you keep seeing on Pinterest! Hand-lettering, knitting, and embroidery are all the rage -- and also have a ton of resources to help get you going. The act of creation is always a nice endorphin boost when everything else is a hot mess. (Try Puzzles from Sativa -- in Harwich).

There are a ton of articles and lists going around the internet about how to be making the most of this time (this one included), that you should be coming out of quarantine with a new skill, or side hustle, or your house in perfect condition. For many people, that’s just not at all possible. And for all of us: this is a global pandemic. Everything is in flux, and there will be no going back to the way things were before, for better and for worse. Right now, there is no agenda other than surviving. So if at the end of all of this, if the “only” thing you’ve managed to do is keep yourself alive and relatively sane, that’s enough.

….But if you do happen to see a cool bird or make a craft that you’re super proud of and post in on Instagram (as you should), please tag me. I’ve done everything on this list and still have 22 hours of my day left to fill!

March Review:

Well, life looked a lot different in March than we are used to and we can only assume that any changes the Cape Cod real estate market felt in March are merely the beginning of a trend line that we do not yet have a full view of. Some good news is that Gov. Baker has deemed real estate an essential service so we are still able [...]

After making it through the longest March ever, we’re now staring down an equally long April spent in lockdown. For a society that’s usually lamenting never having enough time to do the things we want, we’re now facing a month’s worth of hours to fill. Whether you’re still going to work, managing kiddos, working or taking classes from home, or just plain going stir crazy (or all of the above), everything can feel really overwhelming at the moment. In my experience, it does help to find something small, and feasible, to accomplish, to have some semblance of control - at least over your own life and space. So, if you could use some ideas to help fill these many, many hours in isolation, I’ve got your back.

Bird *is* the word: The weather is finally getting nicer, and while we’re all cooped up inside, the birds are back in action! Cape Cod boasts a diverse population of feathered former-dinos, which you can observe out your own windows. Provided that you’re staying the recommended 6 feet away from any other burgeoning birders, the Cape Cod Rail Trail and local conservation trails are also great places to spot Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Ospreys, and more. Mass Audubon has tons of materials to help you identify the birds you do see -- I would not recommend trying to Google them based on a loose series of descriptors. “Small bird black red patches” does not return the results you want and also Google will think you’re having a stroke. 

Actually tackling your honey-do/home improvement list: As any professional procrastinator knows, there comes a point when you’ve exhausted your entire list of activities and are still so bored that you’re willing to do things that you’ve been avoiding for years. This is the moment to rid your closet and bureau of all those clothes that don’t fit you; to finally organize that drawer/pile of miscellaneous mail, accessories, and free promotional stuff; to patch and repaint the hole in the bathroom wall where you *accidentally* ripped down the towel bar two years ago. Extra points will be awarded if you choose to do anything on the outside of your house, or that involves the words ‘lawn clean-up’ or ‘mulch.’ 

Check in again for more great things to do on Cape Cod next week!  And click here to contact us with any questions about buying and selling real estate - and enjoying all that Cape Cod has to offer.