The High End ‘Has Made a Comeback’
According to data from Town and Country Real Estate, one of the firms that has released its home sales report for the first half of 2017, the total number of home sales across all Hamptons markets decreased by 1 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same time period last year. That said, total home sales volume, or the cumulative price of home sales, and median home sales price both increased.
The Town and Country report, which compares home sales reports year to year, was released on July 18. The company uses three criteria to monitor home sales: number of home sales, median home sales price, and total home sales volume in dollars.
The total number of home sales decreased from 899 in the first half of 2016 to 891 so far this year. Only Southampton Village and Amagansett saw increases, but median home sales prices rose in Noyac, North Haven, Sag Harbor Village, North Sea, Southampton Village, East Hampton Village, Montauk, and the Bridgehampton, Water Mill, and Sagaponack area.
In Southampton Village, the number of home sales rose from 37 in the first half of 2016 to 44 sales in the first half of 2017; total home sales volume rose 142 percent, and the median home sales price rose 58 percent from $1.95 million to around $3.1 million so far this year. According to the release, Southampton Village saw the greatest increase of all Hamptons markets, and four home sales were over $20 million.
The Water Mill and Sagaponack areas also saw increases in total home sales volume with over $333 million in sales. Seven homes sold for between $10 million and $19.99 million and one sold for over $20 million each.
Sag Harbor Village had a 3-percent decrease in the number of home sales, but an increase in the total home sales volume. The median home sales price increased nearly 20 percent, which puts it around $1.6 million. In the Noyac and North Haven areas there was a 20-percent increase in the median home sales price to $1.45 million.
Shelter Island did not fare as well as the other towns. All three criteria decreased, including the number of home sales, which went down 25 percent. The total home sales volume dropped 16 percent and the median home sales price went down nearly 11 percent, from $848,250 to $755,000.
Wainscott similarly saw decreases in the three criteria, but East Hampton Village saw a nearly 38-percent increase in the median home sales price, which is now at $3.3 million. Total home sales in dollars increased in Montauk, as did the median home sales price, which is now at $1.1 million.
The Town and Country report said that Southampton Village, East Hampton Village, and Bridgehampton were the crown jewels of the real estate world, but “looking at all Hamptons markets combined it is clear the high end has made an impressive comeback from 2016.” Sales of houses priced in the $10 million to $19 million range rose 30 percent and sales in the $20 million range “shot up 50 percent.” But plenty of action occurred at the less-high end of the market, the report noted: “88 percent of all Hamptons home sales occurred under $3.5 [million].”