The $2 million to $3.5 million homebuyer disappeared from the Hamptons during the fourth quarter, pushing the median sales price down even as the number and dollar volume of home sales increased, according to a market report released today by East End residential brokerage Town and Country Real Estate.
There were 290 homes sold during the fourth quarter of 2011, a 9.4 percent year-over-year increase, at a median price of $787,500, down 16.2 percent from the prior-year quarter. Total sales volume reached $501.3 million, a 4.6 percent gain from the $479.3 million recorded during the fourth quarter of 2010 (see chart below).
One hundred and seventy two of the homes sold during the last three months of last year were worth less than $1 million, and sales of all homes worth less than $2 million were up 21 percent. Sales of homes priced greater than $3.5 million remained constant at 33. But sales in the $2 million to $3.5 million range plummeted 43.2 percent over the 12-month period.
As for individual neighborhoods, the Sag Harbor area, which includes Noyack and North Haven, recorded a whopping 78.9 percent increase in home sales volume over the 12-month period, making it the biggest gainer on the East End. Amagansett, Hampton Bays, Sag Harbor Village and East Hampton Village each saw a 30 to 40 percent increase in the dollar volume of home sales. On the other hand, Montauk and the Southampton Area, which includes North Sea, both witnessed home sales volume decreases of greater than 20 percent.
DesPite a 31.9 percent decrease in median sales price, East Hampton Village remained the priciest neighborhood in the Hamponts by that measure at $3.58 million. Bridgehampton and Southampton Village followed with median sales prices of $2.8 million and $2.3 million, respectively. Meanwhile, even in the face of a 1.1 percent uptick in median sales price, the Hampton Bays held on to the title of most affordable Hamptons area with a median price of $368,500. — Adam Fusfeld
source: Town and Country Real Estate
