Southampton home values rise by $2B overall

Even amid the real estate slump, Southampton homes rose by more than $2 billion in overall value in the past year, according to the town’s property assessment office. Although many home assessments dropped — especially those in Hampton Bays, Flanders and Riverside, which saw average drops of between 10 and 15 percent — others, particularly on the water, saw increases. The assessor’s office attributed the increases to recent sale prices that were higher than their assessed values and to renovations on certain properties. [Southampton Press]