Dan's Papers - July 13, 2007 - East End Real Estate Sales Rise In New Report

The residential real estate market on the east end experienced a definite upsurge in May from the month before. This is a very good sign and may signal the end of the doldrums that the market has experienced over the last year and a half.

The surge was reported by the New York State Association of Realtors in their June 21 report about the New York housing market. In almost every county in the state, including Suffolk County, the number of existing single-family homes sold increased by 14% in May from the month before. In Suffolk, which includes the Hamptons, the surge was marked at 11 1/2%.

The number of homes sold in Suffolk County in May was 847. The number of homes sold in Suffolk County in April was 760. This is a considerable increase.

It should be said that the number of homes sold, month by month, has drifted downwards, at least until April, since it peaked a year ago. In May of 2005, there were 975 homes sold in the County, in May of 2006 there were 1003 sold. In April of 2007 it had declined to 760, but now it has revived to 847.

The figures for the entire state mirror what has happened here in Suffolk. Statewide, the numbers were 8,620 homes sold in May 2005, 8,991 homes sold in May 2006, 6,800 sold in April of 2007 and 7,766 sold in May 2007. It is a definite upswing.

A newer report, due out on July 20, will report the sales for the month of June. If the upswing continues, it could mark the end of the yearlong slump.

In another part of this report, a study shows that the median price of homes sold in May in Suffolk County has held steady, not only from April, but from a year ago, when it was also less. The figures for May 2005, May 2006, April 2007 and May 2007 are $389,000, $405,000, $411,000 and $410,000 respectively.

As for the whole state, the median prices held fairly steady from May 2005 until May 2007. These numbers for May 2005, May 2006, April 2007 and May 2007 are $227,000, $235,000, $247,000 and $239,000 respectively.

Note that the median price for a single family home in Suffolk County is nearly double that of the average throughout the state, and it also is the sixth highest among the sixty counties in the state.

If you were to break out the wealthier eastern end of Suffolk County, it would likely show that the East End has the highest median prices for homes in the State, if not the country.