Hamptons, North Fork markets bounce back

The East End’s residential market is continuing to pick up speed. 

Contract signings and new listings increased more than they usually do from February to March in both the Hamptons and the North Fork, according to a March report by Miller Samuel for Douglas Elliman. 

Home shoppers and sellers did not appear put off by the failures of two regional banks and troubles at a couple of others, report author Jonathan Miller said.

“I would have expected to see, based on the alarm that [the bank failures] raised, that it would add another layer of uncertainty,” Miller said. “But we didn’t see it.”

Still, inventory — the number of homes for sale — remains low in the two weekend communities, which gained some permanent residents during the pandemic. Along with higher mortgage rates, that translated into fewer contract signings than in March 2022.

Last month was still much busier than February, though, and more than the usual seasonal increase.

In the Hamptons, new signed contracts rose 56 percent month-over-month from 55 to 86, the third monthly uptick in a row. New listings increased for the second time in three months, up by 14 percent from 78 in February to 89 in March.

The North Fork also reported monthly gains, though the market’s upward trend trails that of the Hamptons. New signed contracts were up for the second consecutive month, increasing by 65 percent from 17 in February to 28. New listings rose for the third time, up from 28 to 43 — a 54 percent month-over-month increase.

“Part of the reason we’re experiencing an uptick in activity is because there’s product for brokers to sell,” Miller said. “But it’s still limited.”

Though the East End is experiencing monthly increases in new listings, inventory and new listings alike remain below that of year-ago and pre-pandemic levels. Last month, new listings in the Hamptons were down 14 percent year-over-year and 39 percent from March 2020. 

In the North Fork, new listings were 19 percent below that of March 2022 and 16 percent lower than in March 2020. 

“Clearly we’re seeing supply come in, but it’s coming [up] from a very low level,” Miller said. “Inventory entering the market, as a phenomenon, is still sharply below what we saw pre-pandemic.”

Owners typically have mortgages with lower interest rates than they could get now, which makes them reluctant to sell one place to buy another. As a result, signed contract activity was lower in both markets last month than in March 2022 — down 38 percent in the Hamptons and 24 percent in the North Fork.

New signed contract activity in the Hamptons exceeded that of March 2020 levels, with volume up 72 percent. But that was the dramatic period when pandemic shutdowns began, depressing the numbers at the end of that month and throwing off comparisons.