The real estate market on the Vineyard appears to be showing signs of life, according to the most recent data from the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank.

Land bank revenues are up for the first six months of the fiscal year, even though the number of sales remains relatively flat.

South Mountain Company's high-performance building engineer Marc Rosenbaum gave a presentation on Innovative Mechanical Systems for Low Heating Load Buildings at the fifth annual North American Passive House conference in Portland, Ore. Passive House is a German standard that was designed to make the world's most energy efficient buildings.

His case studies included a recent South Mountain deep-energy retrofit of a century-old carriage house for the Woods Hole Research Center.

Real Estate Course

New requirements for obtaining a Massachusetts real estate license take effect in the spring of 2011 requiring three years of experience as a salesperson as a prerequisite for obtaining a broker’s license; currently one year is required.

The classroom requirements for a salesperson or a broker’s license will also be increased from 24 to 40 hours, and the require.

Dukes Academy, a state licensed real estate school based on the Vineyard, is offering classes beginning Oct. 26.

Sandpiper Realtor

Mary Ashley has resumed her affiliation with Sandpiper Realty Inc. after a professional and educational hiatus.

Ms. Ashley began her real estate career at Sandpiper in 1999, leaving the Island in 2003 to pursue a master’s degree in counseling psychology at Lesley University while continuing as a successful broker with Coldwell Banker in Cambridge and at Saint Armand’s Circle in Sarasota, Fla.

Rental Opportunities

Applications for four newly built Tisbury affordable homes are now available at the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority at 346 State Road in Vineyard Haven (behind Craig’s Bicycles).

The Island Housing Trust announced the homebuyer application and selection process for one two-bedroom home and three three-bedroom homes at 325 Lambert’s Cove Road in Tisbury.

The sale price and maximum allowable income are:

House 1: $299,000 for three-bedroom home (income $78,500 to $98,200)

As home mortgage foreclosure notices began appearing, then multiplying, in the Vineyard newspapers, John Pearson grew concerned. When the notices began to include names he knew, including people who volunteered with him at Big Brothers/Big Sisters, he convened a group to take action.