Sales and Prices Down as Inventory Surges in the Hamptons

The median sales price fell 4.2% to $850,000 in the second quarter of 2019, compared to $887,500 for the same time period last year. 

“There was a big gap before in what the buyers were willing to offer and the sellers were willing to accept,” Todd Bourgard, senior executive regional manager of sales for the Hamptons, said in an interview. 

Many homes were priced slightly above market value, Mr. Bourgard said, and buyers weren’t having it. But as prices are coming down, buyers are coming “off the shelf,” he added. 

On the luxury side, defined as the 10% of sales, the number of deals was “in line with the quarterly average for the past decade,” according to the report. But the inventory in that category jumped 90% in the second quarter in 2019 compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the median sales price for luxury properties rose 3.4% to $6 million, compared to $5.8 million in 2018. 

Caps on state-and-local-tax deductions enacted last year are part of the reason for the subdued sales and increased inventory, the report indicated.

But buyers are getting used to the reality of the new tax law, Mr. Bourgard explained. With interest rates still low and prices coming down, he has seen an uptick in deals in the last three weeks, he added. 

“Earlier this season, I’d visit our offices and there were a lot of agents there,” he said. “Now they are all out selling.”

This article originally appeared in Mansion Global .