High-end realty spots in Canada are not alone. The affluent east end of Long Island, New York known as the Hamptons is also feeling the crunch of a repricing cycle now underway in its luxury home market (properties listed for $3.2m and up). Records show there were 869 luxury properties available at the end of the first quarter — almost triple the supply from a year earlier and the most in seven years. Experts note it would take about seven-and-a-half years to sell all the available luxury homes at the current pace of sales–the longest prospective period on record.
As high-end homes pile up, it seems buyers are focused on any listings below $1 million. The median price for sales completed was $850,000 in the first quarter of 2019, down 5.5% from a year earlier. Agents say they are hopeful that sellers will lower prices to get the market moving. See Unsold luxury homes are piling up in the Hamptons:
Ernie Cervi, senior vice president at brokerage Corcoran Group, said sales in the Hamptons should pick up in the second quarter, now that tax season is over, mortgage rates are lower and financial markets have stabilized. The added supply will also push sellers to be more flexible.
“Price adjustment is the trigger,” Cervi said. “That’s what brings people back into the market.”