Signs of life for Hamptons, North Fork markets

The Hamptons and North Fork continue to be plagued by a lack of homes for sale, but there are signs of light at the end of the tunnel, according to a monthly report by Miller Samuel.

While the Hamptons market remains tight, it may be beginning to rebound ahead of the spring market, said Jonathan Miller, who authored the report for Douglas Elliman. New inventory for single-family homes rose on a year-over-year basis for the first time since last summer, and both inventory and new signed contracts rose on a month-over-month basis in January.

“I think this is good news for the market,” he said. “Perhaps this is the beginning. … The market is climbing out of the deficit of activity into something a little bit more active.”

Miller said the increase could be attributable to the drop in mortgage rates in recent months, although they are still well above where they were a year ago.

New single-family home listings in the Hamptons numbered 75 in January, two more than in January 2021, while contract signings totaled just 43, down from 113.

On the North Fork, while supply has weakened, demand has as well, so inventory has held steady. New single-family signed contracts fell to 12 from 21 year-over-year, and new listings fell to 21 from 28.

The only price tranche that didn’t see a significant decline in contracts was the $4 million to $4.99 million range. But there was just one of those, same as last January.