Owners Are Losing Millions in Value on This Nantucket Street as the Coastline Evaporates and Properties Plummet in Price

Nantucket, long the playground of the rich and famous, saw $1.3 billion in real estate deals in 2024 alone, with a median sales price of $3.3 million. But one street likely won’t be sharing in the wealth.

Sheep Pond Road, on the southwest part of the Massachusetts vacation island near Madaket, has seen millions shaved off its pricey homes due to beach erosion.

“Sheep Pond is going in the drink,” says local real estate agent Shelly Lockwood, of Advisors Living.

Homes on the formerly coveted road have seen their values plummet as the precious coastline disintegrates, with rising sea levels due to climate change likely playing a role.

A 4-acre parcel of land with two properties—14 and 16—was snapped up by a local real estate investor in April 2022 for $3.9 million. But last week, one of them was declared uninhabitable and condemned by the town.

Both are now set to be auctioned off in March on behalf of the lender.

“Is Sheep Pond a smart investment?” asks Lockwood. “No, it is not.”

How erosion is killing prices on one Nantucket street

The broker, who grew up summering on the island and currently lives there full time, says Sheep Pond Road’s troubles weren’t news to anyone familiar with the area.

“Part of Sheep Pond Road is already gone,” she says. “It’s been washed away for years. You used to be able to drive all along that coast. You can’t anymore. It’s going to continue to wash away. How fast, nobody knows.”

“It keeps getting smaller and smaller,” Rob Ranney, assessor for the town of Nantucket, told the Boston Globe. He says the street has seen 10 to 15 feet of erosion every year for many years.

The state of the street is reflected in mind-boggling discounts, including a 2,625-square-foot home at 6 Sheep Pond Road that was listed for nearly $2.3 million in September 2023 and ultimately sold for $600,000.

Another house at 28 Sheep Pond Road, which was assessed at nearly $2 million, went for the shockingly slashed price of $200,000.

And 37 Sheep Pond Road hit the market in July for a mere $850,000, but the listing was removed two months later. It’s currently assessed at only $278,043 (compared with almost 20 years ago, when it was assessed at $1.77 million).

In October 2023, a home at 21 Sheep Pond Road was condemned and then demolished.

None of this stopped investor Brett Fodiman, president of Boston real estate investment firm Slacktide, from buying up 14 and 16 Sheep Pond Road in April 2022 for $3.9 million. (Realtor.com® has reached out to Fodiman and his attorney for comment.)

The properties, each with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, were being rented out for $16,000 a week during peak summer.

Fodiman’s investment is now underwater—almost literally—as the town recently declared 16 Sheep Pond Road uninhabitable due to erosion and shut off power.

The properties, totaling more than 4 acres, are set to be auctioned off by Paul E. Saperstein Co. on behalf of the lender—Clinton Savings Bank—on March 4.

The lender had given a $2.9 million mortgage loan to Slacktide right before the sale, according to Nantucket Current.

The auctioneer told Realtor.com that, so far as it knows, the auction is still scheduled. But the owner’s attorney disagrees.

“There is no upcoming auction,” David B. Madoff told the Boston Globe. “The entity that owns the property, 14 16 Sheep Pond LLC, has filed a Chapter 11 petition, staying the foreclosure. The owner is hoping to complete a refinancing of the property.”

“That’s a stalling tactic,” says Lockwood. “Who would refinance it?”

The owner of the LLC is presumably Fodiman, who plastered Slacktide’s Instagram page with photos and videos of the property.

In March, the owner sought permission to build two new homes on the property. In the published minutes from the meeting, it was noted that 16 Sheep Pond Road is “close to an eroding bluff” and the house, along with its septic system, was slated to be moved.

An inspection related to the petition is likely what led to the house being condemned, as it is often the septic system that first starts showing signs that a property is in big trouble.

At the meeting, fears about erosion on the street were brought up multiple times. According to the minutes, Commissioner Kerry McKenna “expressed concern regarding coastal erosion … and the recent loss of properties on Sheep Pond Road.”

According to attorney Sarah Alger, the bank still wants to relocate the home. The Nantucket Historic District Commission voted to allow it to be either demolished or moved.

It’s unclear what will happen to the property given the owner’s Chapter 11 filing.

The future of Sheep Pond Road and other Nantucket waterfront property

The auction might move ahead, but Lockwood thinks bidders would be foolish.

“The houses are not worth anything. It’s going to cost money to move them,” she says. “They can’t fall in the ocean. If they fall in the ocean, it’s an enormous environmental hazard. There’s Styrofoam and fiberglass and metal. It’s horrible. And you get a huge fine from the [Environmental Protection Agency].”

As for why a presumably savvy investor paid millions for properties already at high risk in 2022, Lockwood says, “It’s a little surprising, with him being as knowledgeable as he is about Nantucket. But people have their own whims.”

She adds: “He wanted two waterfront properties. He thought they’d last, but they didn’t.”

Despite everything, Sheep Pond Road still has three properties for sale, listed from $2.2 million to $2.9 million.

“Sweeping ocean views, spectacular sunsets, and authentic Nantucket charm is found here at 39 Sheep Pond Road in Madaket,” says one listing. “If endless, unobstructed ocean views from Nantucket is your thing, you needn’t look further. Direct access to the beach.”

There is no mention of the trouble on the street.

And it isn’t just this particular road having erosion issues on the island, known as “Billionaires Isle.”

In October, 8 Ames Road in Madaket was finally sold for $1.6 million, almost half the original listing price. A neighboring house had been torn down years earlier after it was deemed at risk of floating off into the sea.

And Lockwood cites Baxter Road, on the Sconset side, as a major trouble spot. It currently has six properties listed for sale, ranging from $1.8 million to $12.5 million.

She notes that buyer’s agents are brutally honest with prospective owners about a property’s risk. But the Nantucket waterfront dream dies hard, and some still insist on whipping out their checkbook.

“There’s people who can afford to lose that amount of money,” she says. “It’s hard to believe. But they’ll get five or 10 years or however long they might get out of a house. To them, that is worth it.”