In Southampton, 2010 Real Estate Sales Are Up Dramatically

There have been 104 residential sales in the village of Southampton for 2010, as recorded at the County Center. We are aware of at least seven others, which we have shown with photos on our website, www.southamptonre.com.  These 111 village home sales compare to 78 home sales for the year 2009 — a 42 percent increase.

The real estate sales statistics in the Southampton 11968 zip code outside the village are even more dramatic. With complete numbers not yet in, there have been 142 residential sales recorded at the County Center for 2010 compared to 71 combined sales in the hamlets of North Sea, Tuckahoe and Shinnecock Hills for 2009 — a two-fold increase.

The median price of real estate in the village is reported at $1.6 million, down about 4 and a half percent from 2009. The median price in North Sea, Tuckahoe and Shinnecock Hills is about $800,000, down about 13 percent from 2009, according to Suffolk Research Service, based in Hampton Bays.

The absorption rate in Southampton — the number of homes on the market today divided by the number of homes sold this past year — is between 5 and 6 years. This means that if sales continue at the present rate, and no more homes come on the market, that it will take 5 to 6 years to deplete the inventory. A balanced market inventory is about six months. Our current market is a buyer's market with many homes to choose from.

Although nationally about a third of all houses that transfer are either short sales or foreclosures, and 1,241 foreclosures were reported so far in 2010 in Suffolk County, only five occurred in Southampton, and only one was in the village, according to The Real Estate Report Long Island Edition.

Food for thought: If you were considering what to wear today, would you check out the weather forecast in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Detroit or Miami, or would you look for a specific weather forecast for where you were going to be? Perhaps it is just as meaningless to look at the real estate markets in other parts of our country when considering a home in Southampton.

Early in 2009, for various reasons, including stricter underwriting policies by financial institutions and just plain fear, buyers had been standing on the sidelines, paralyzed. The current, albeit slower than normal, Southampton market is turning around as we are now seeing offers and acceptances and contracts to purchase being signed.

The stability of the Southampton market can be attributed to the uniqueness and over-all desirability of its coveted location. Despite the collapse of our nation's mortgage industry and the generally gloomy economy, Southampton is a great place to live and invest. Buyers are seizing opportunity from our current market conditions, including a larger than normal supply of homes on the market, favorable prices and near record low interest rates.