North Fork -Long Island Real Estate Market Update

February 5th, 2008 category: Buyers, Real Estate News, Sellers

What has gone under contract so far in 2008 on the North Fork of Long Island?

The following report, using figures from mlsli, indicates properties that (while some are not closed) have enjoyed a contract in 2008. These transactions occurred from Jan.01, 2008- February 5, 2008.

The towns included in the search are: Aquebogue, Baiting Hollow, Calverton, East Marion, Jamesport, Laurel, Mattituck, Riverhead, and Southold, New York. Included in the search, but showing no contracts, are Greenport and Orient/Orient Point, New York. *Always check figures with MLSLI for the most up-to-date numbers.

Aquebogue: 2 U/C. One was priced at $339k, the other at $375k. The days on market average is:231.5
Baiting Hollow: 1 U/C. This home was priced at $599,750. The days on market average : 59
Calverton: 2 U/C. One was priced at $369k, the other at $649,999. The days on market average:168.5
East Marion: 1 U/C. This home was priced at $865k. The days on market average:92
Jamesport: 3 U/C. One was priced at $479,846, one at $544k, one at 599k. The days on market average:183
Laurel: 1 U/C. This home was priced at $469k. Days on market was:259
Mattituck: 3 U/C. One was priced at $470k, one at $525k, one at $799k. Days on market average:303. This figure is skewed by a home that spent 772 DOM.
Riverhead (excluding mobile home sales): 8 U/C. Pricing: $150k; 225k; 290k; 428k; 450k; 469k; 599k; 649k. Days on market average: 196.
Southold: 2 U/C. One was priced at $525k; the other at $699k. Average days on the market:81

This snapshot provides activity (buyers) making their presence known (performing a contract) from Jan.01, 2008 to Feb.7, 2008.

It does NOT include buyers that may have entered into a contract prior to Jan 01.

The following is a report on available homes on the North Fork, Long Island.

Aquebogue (excluding mobile homes/seasonal cottages): 60
Baiting Hollow (excluding mobile homes/seasonal cottages): 50
Calverton (excluding mobile homes/seasonal cottages):19
Cutchogue: 46
East Marion: 25
Greenport: 35
Jamesport: 27
Laurel: 17
Mattituck: 47
Nassau Point: 3 (likely located under Cutchogue)
Orient: 16
Riverhead (excluding mobile homes/seasonal cottages): 145
South Jamesport: 8
Southold: 104

TOTAL PROPERTIES AVAILABLE: 487
TOTAL HOMES U/C IN THE FIRST MONTH OF 2008: 23

To sellers of homes on the North Fork of Long Island: competition is accumulating. While selling your home is always a possibility, it is critical (in a market that shows no indication of immediate improvement) to determine whether the need to sell is paramount. If not, based on reports of a challenging year, it might be better to hold off, and sell when things begin to improve. Patrick McGeehan at The NY Times, recently quoted Jeffrey Otteau about this in his article entitled Home Prices Start to Dip, Recalling ’90s Slump.

Homeowners who are waiting for the market to rebound to sell their houses will regret that decision, Mr. Otteau said.

“For those sellers who’ve decided to wait until spring to get what they think their house is worth, the spring they’re waiting for is a very long time off,” Mr. Otteau said. “Unless you have the ability to wait this out for five years, waiting is a losing game.”

While it is very early in the year, we are in a “buyers market”- and as those buyers consider properties, pricing appropriately is paramount to success. Choices are plentiful, but the reason behind the choice is clear: we’ve lost many of our “first time” buyers. Lenders have tightened the grip, preventing many from purchasing. This impairs the “move up” buyer- and so on. We haven’t seen the impact of foreclosed properties yet- while they are present (often the result of those that purchased in the last few years, and are now upside-down) the impact has not been fully recognized in this area- YET.

There are occasions in real estate that make it sensible to “test the waters”. In our opinion, we are not experiencing one of those times- to the contrary, less is (for the market as a whole) a better alternative- properties that are languishing with reluctant sellers are impacting the area negatively. Buyers are making their ability/interest clear: if it’s not priced appropriately to the current buying climate, it isn’t going to sell.

If you NEED to sell your home, get a current, accurate market analysis. Don’t gamble in a downward market by shutting out buyers that may have an interest, but are waiting. Accommodate buyers by pricing correctly.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 8:24 pm and is filed under Buyers, Real Estate News, Sellers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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