How the mighty have fallen!
The last 3 months of 2016 were NOT good for the Hamptons real estate markets.
11 of the 12 individual markets monitored by TOWN & COUNTRY experienced declines in the Number of Home Sales with the hardest hit being starlets East Hampton Village with a 46% drop and Bridgehampton (which includes Water Mill and Sagaponack) with a whopping 56% free fall. In turn, these two markets also experienced the worst losses in Total Home Sales Volume with Bridgehampton (which includes Water Mill and Sagaponack) down -70% from $305 million trading hands in the 4th Quarter 2015 to a scant $92 million for the same 3 months a year later, and East Hampton Village sank like a stone by -81% from $120 million to just $22.7 million year to year, 4th quarter.
Enough of the bad news, while the Number of Home Sales and Total Home Sales Volume were both poor performers in the 4th quarter, 2016, the Median Home Sales Price rose in half the markets monitored by TOWN & COUNTRY. In fact, Montauk, which remains one of the hottest markets, experienced a 61% leap in Median Home Sales Price 2015 to 2016 4th quarter from $815,000 to $1.315 million respectively. Prices are obviously going up in Montauk — “simply put, the supply is never going to outweigh the demand since Montauk is surrounded on 3 sides by ocean.”
Looking at All Hamptons Markets Combined and you clearly see activity in Hamptons home sales was pretty much on hold toward the end of 2016, particularly $10 million and up, where there were 14 closings in the last 3 months of 2015 vs. only 5 in 2016. The good news is all 8 TOWN & COUNTRY offices are reporting heightened activity since the election and I predict 2017 will be a much better year than 2016.
To view all reports visit TownAndCountryHamptons.com/Reports.