The Hamptons

The real estate weather in the Hamptons this quarter was mostly sunny. The market saw generally stable housing prices and sales activity. Buyers seem to like and continue capitalizing on low mortgage rates and lower prices.

The East End residential property median sales price was $625,000, which is 10.7% below $700,000 in the same period last year and 19.4% lower than $775,000 in the prior quarter. There has been an increase in high-end sales over the past few quarters, which accounts for the drop in the median sales price.

The report also notes:

“There were 469 sales in the third quarter, 2.2% above 459 sales in the same period last year, but 19.4% below 582 sales in the prior quarter. The pronounced decline from the prior quarter marks a return to seasonality. For the past decade, the average decline between the second and third quarters was 17.1%.”

It also notes that over the last two years, listing inventory has remained relatively stable. Listing inventory in the third quarter was 2,271 units, 6.1% below the prior year quarter and 3.7%  above 2,190 in the prior quarter. The listing discount was 10%, below 16.9% in the prior year quarter, but above the 6.4% of the prior quarter. Days on market was 164 days- down from 198 days in the prior year  quarter and 131 days in the prior quarter.

For more information and to view the full report, click here.

How do you get people interested in properties in the Hamptons that are among the most expensive in the country? According to The Real Deal, around 20 of the 250 most expensive properties there are choosing to dramatically cut the prices- by at least 10% of their previous asking prices.

The long-term changes in the economy are combining with the seasonal changes in perspective to create some massive price cuts in the properties at the top of the market– 14% (about a $5 million cut to $30 million) off of a spec mansion in Water Mill here, 11% (down $4.5 million to $35 million) off an East Hampton listing there.

The Real Deal quoted Peter Turino, a broker in East Hampton, who put it in the simplest of terms: “The recession has forced us to come to grips with disparities between the asking prices and perceived real property value.”

Just as shadow inventory of condos in the City that will see nowhere near the prices they were built to sell for, the most expensive of the Hamptons estates are taking their time to deflate from last decade’s pricing bubble.

Photo Credit: The Real Deal

$900,000 Sagaponack Rental

$900,000 is the asking price for Memorial Day to Labor Day.  The owner, Joanne Corzine, ex-wife of the former New Jersey governor, broke the record for most expensive rental last year at the same price, and she’s looking to do it again.

Last year’s taker for the record-breaking summer rent was Henry Silverman, who this year decided to buy instead of rent. He went with a $14 million purchase of 2.38 acre estate and a 12,000+ square foot Sagaponack home with 8 bedrooms, 8 1/2 baths, geothermal heating and cooling system, infinity-edge pool, tennis court and a one-hole golf course.

You get: A 6,200-square foot house, 6.5 acre property, a heated pool, guest house, tennis court, one-hole golf course, and all the patios you can sip martinis on.

You can see the full listing here.

Image Credit: Curbed

Top 10 Most Expensive 2009 Hamptons Sales

A report came out this week from Town & Country with the 2009  Top 10 most expensive homes sold in the Hamptons. I know how everyone loves luxurious pads and top 10 lists so here we go…  The most expensive sale, a Southampton Village property that went for $25,895,000, would have been #5 in 2008 and #10 in 2007, and it was almost $7 million higher than the second most expensive home sold and the only home to go for over $20 million.

Photo Credit: Scribd

Top Ten Most Expensive Hamptons Sales

Expensive Hamptons Homes

In 2000, an $8 million house was the subject of a New York Times article called Wowing them with Excess in the Hamptons, in which construction workers and brokers alike talked about the massive growth and dramatic growth in spending. That house wouldn’t even make this year’s top ten, let alone warrant an article in the Times.

While some have been saying that 2009 was the bottom of the market for the Hamptons, it remains to be seen where and how average and top prices will stabilize, and when the region will again see market growth. Over the past decade, 2005 was the most active year in the market and 2007 the most expensive, with the #1 sale being a $103 million two-property sale in East Hampton.