Martha’s Vineyard has long been a summer haven for celebrities, financiers and power players, where multimillion-dollar homes and polished displays of luxury are part of the scenery.
Yet on this exclusive Massachusetts island, one of the most coveted markers of privilege is not a mansion or a yacht, but something far smaller: a beach key.
These sought-after “beach keys,” which can cost more than $400,000, unlock access to private portions of Martha’s Vineyard’s famously scenic shoreline.
For many people, the price is staggering. But for buyers chasing seclusion, easy beach access and a guaranteed escape from the crowds, demand remains remarkably strong.
Part of the appeal comes from scarcity. Many of the keys are passed down through families for decades, leaving very few available even as more wealthy buyers look to secure one.
That tight supply has helped push prices sharply higher, with some Martha’s Vineyard beach keys more than doubling in value over the past 20 years.
Back in 2003, a key for Quansoo Beach in Chilmark was valued at about $200,000, Abby Rabinovitz of Tea Lane Associates told the Wall Street Journal.
By last year, access to that same beach reportedly sold for $475,000, while a key to Hancock Beach commanded an even steeper $650,000.
Keys to private beaches on Martha’s Vineyard are the island’s hottest commodity
The keys cost upwards of $400,000 and have been rising in price astronomically
Key owners say they are drawn to the privacy and seclusion offered by the keys
‘There’s more demand than supply. Prices reflect that,’ Alexis Holden of Tea Lane added, noting two of her clients have been waiting for ‘well over a year’ for a coveted key.
Unlike many other states, Massachusetts permits private beaches.
Martha’s Vineyard’s roughly 124 miles of shoreline offers more than two dozen public and private beaches, with beach towns exclusively for residents.
Keys became a staple of the area after families who owned large amounts of land divided the space up among themselves, according to the Journal.
The appeal lies almost solely with the beaches’ privacy and seclusion, a privilege to those who can afford it.
That rings true for Lisa Herrick, a clinical psychologist based in Washington DC, who inherited a key in Aquinnah from her parents.
‘That’s one of the magical things about it,’ Herrick told the Journal. The key access, for her, ‘doesn’t feel like a club.’
‘You don’t go there to socialize with other people – but it feels like an incredible thing to have,’ she added.
Many keys remain in families for generations, contributing to the sense of exclusivity
Massachusetts allows private beaches and Martha’s Vineyard has long had a tradition of locking up its most pristine coastline
The expensive keys are rising in proportion to property values in the area, leaving some priced-out locals fuming.
Tyler Smith, who co-owns a property in Chilmark with his brother Whit Smith, listed his portion of their 46-acre property for $16 million.
Their listing agent, Rabinovitz, said that the key included in Smith’s offering is estimated at around $450,000 to $475,000.
‘For the common people, you just visit and go home. You can’t own a piece of it,’ Mike Peters from Albany, New York, told the outlet.
Peters said he rents a spot on Martha’s Vineyard almost every year but could never afford to own a home on the island or a key for himself.
It remains fairly uncommon to see the sale of a key, however – only around 40 beach lots sold since 2019. Some are included in property sales, but can add several hundred thousand dollars to the value, according to the Journal.
Filmmaker David Heilbroner, 69, said: ‘Now people are building $20 million houses routinely. So, a $600,000 beach key is closer to a rounding error.’
‘The starting line for everybody isn’t equal,’ he added. ‘Rich people can get a private beach and others can’t. I don’t pretend to be holier than anybody, I just do have these feelings.’
Martha’s Vineyard’s roughly 124 miles of shoreline offers more than two dozen public and private beaches, with beach towns exclusively for residents
Keys for the beach at Chilmark have fetched up to $475,000 and climbing
Heilbroner owns a home in Chilmark and inherited a key to Hancock Beach, previously serving as the president of the Hancock Beach Association – which he said doesn’t serve to keep the public at bay but hopes to preserve the beach.
‘It’s a very special place that deserves protection,’ he said. ‘There is the reality that the island is eroding.’
Some of the beach associations even prevent keys from being sold at all, something Herrick intends to honor.
‘My parents gave it to me; I will give it to our kids,’ she told the outlet.
The notion of private beaches leaves many with a sour taste in their mouths, as many tourists and visitors have shared tales of keyholders warding off lost wanderers.
Julie Flanders told the outlet that a key to Goff Beach in Aquinnah has been in her family for 13 generations.
‘It seems elitist maybe,’ she admitted, but said that ‘it’s just management of traffic flow.’
But Flanders acknowledged that the sky-rocketing price of keys has contributed to a change in demographic at the beach.
‘Island families had them forever. It was just a lifestyle thing,’ she said. ‘When the pricing went up, it changed perception.’
