Interest rate increases have slowed the demand for homes in the Hamptons, causing sale prices to fall 7.6% in the first quarter. Bloomberg’s Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou reports:
Buyers in the Hamptons are taking a pause.
The median home sale price in the luxury Long Island enclave fell 7.6% in the first quarter, the first decline since 2019, while the total number of homes sold slumped 44% from the prior year to 424, according to data from Town & Country Real Estate.
Fewer homes sold at all price points, but the high end of the market was hit particularly hard. The number of home sales priced between $10 million and $19.99 million tumbled 61%.
Home prices in the Hamptons reached peak levels in the past three years, as wealthy New Yorkers fled the crowded city during the pandemic and snapped up vacation homes or relocated to the area as remote work gained popularity. The recent downturn in the region, which is umbilically tied to Wall Street, comes amid a banking crisis, a broader decline in US housing prices and high mortgage rates.
“The retreat began with interest rate hikes at an unprecedented pace, due to the highest inflation in four decades, not to mention a stock market that gave even a seasoned investor whiplash,” said Judi Desiderio, CEO of Town and Country.
All 12 markets that Town & Country monitors, from Westhampton to Montauk, saw decreases in the overall number of homes sold, with Amagansett, Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor Village seeing declines greater than 60%.
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