Luxury home sales in the weekend haven for New Yorkers known as the Hamptons are headed up. Many of the local areas, such as Bridgehampton, Southampton and East Hampton all came back strong in the second quarter of 2017 compared to last year. They are expected to remain strong throughout the rest of the year, as well. The upswing in the Hamptons is mainly due to a buoyant stock market. Recently, four properties have closed in the area for more than $20 million. During the same period last year, none had closed for this type of price. Even closings from $10 million to $19.9 million have gone up to 10, which is much higher than last year. Most of the high-end home sales occurred in three towns, with only one of the 14 sales happening outside of East Hampton, Bridgehampton and Southampton. All three have seen a huge upswing in the real estate market and it’s expected to continue. A brighter outlook for both Wall Street and the economy is one of the main take-aways from this growth. When the economy is good, the wealthy tend to take money from other places and invest in hard assets, such as real estate. In addition, they may invest in jewelry or art, but luxury real estate seems to be the choice right now for many. Whether in South Beach or the Hamptons, when the stock market is good, the wealthier start to buy.
Most Expensive Home Recently Sold
While many homes have sold, the most expensive property is worth taking a look at. It sold for $31 million and was a four-bedroom, two-and-one-half bathroom homes with 199 feet of beachfront. The property covers about 2.6 acres of land, as well. It was purchased back in 1984 for just $175K. Overall, the median sales price for the area went up 10.1% to $1.1 million and the total value of sales in the Hamptons is up 21.7%. Many of the other Hamptons markets also improved, but a few did decline a bit including:
- Amagansett
- Montauk
- Shelter Island
- Area Outside East Hampton and Sag Harbor
Even with sales prices and volumes down in these markets, many experts believe the rest of the year looks very good for the Hamptons. The third quarter is expected to be very active and not just with luxury properties.