Hamptons home sales rose this spring, as North Fork sees prices surge

The median price of a home on the North Fork rose above $1 million for the first time during the second quarter, with agents saying buyers are increasingly seeking out communities like Greenport, Southold and Mattituck.

On the North Fork, the median price among closed sales surged 13.4% to $1,092,338 during the April-to-June period. That was up from $963,000 during the same stretch last year. That eclipsed the record of $999,999 set in the third quarter last year, according to data released Thursday by real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman and appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

In the Hamptons, the median price was largely unchanged at just under $1.9 million. That was down from the all-time high of $2 million in the first quarter. But the area differed from the rest of Long Island in that the number of sales is rising and more houses are for sale than last year.

Homebuyers are drawn to the North Fork for the opportunity to buy larger lots and for its proximity to marinas, farm stands and wineries, said Ernie Cervi, regional senior vice president of the East End at Corcoran in Sag Harbor.

“In the past few years, the North Fork became more of a destination, not an alternative,” Cervi said.

Bridget Elkin, a real estate broker at Compass in Southold, said she has recently noticed a rise in two types of buyers. 

Some homeowners in the Hamptons have cashed in on rising values and moved to the North Fork, where their money can go further, she said. There are also buyers who bought land or a fixer-upper on the North Fork but are now purchasing a new construction or recently renovated home because of rising building costs. 

Elkin says for vacation homebuyers, the North Fork increasingly offers amenities associated with the Hamptons, such as top restaurants and golf clubs, but with fewer crowds.

“You used to sit in traffic to get out to the Hamptons,” Elkin said. “The difference now, post-COVID, is that it’s hard to get a bagel in the morning, so the traffic jam has extended to every day. That is a big reason for people making the move.”

The price increases on the North Fork have been more extreme than even the rest of Long Island, where prices have similarly surged since the pandemic. At more than $1 million, the median price on the North Fork was 69% higher in the second quarter than it was in the spring of 2019, the last comparable period before the pandemic. At that time, the median price was $644,500.

The market for year-round residents searching for a home priced around $600,000 is extremely competitive, Elkin said.

“Sellers in this market are valuing certainty, so they want to see a buyer come in and say, ‘I’m ready to purchase this house, here is my preapproval, I’m not going to negotiate [for a lower price] on inspection items, and I’m a solid buyer,” Elkin said.

On the South Fork, buyers now have more to choose from, with listings rising nearly 10% year-over-year as of the end of June. That has helped lead to more deals, agents said.

Another factor supporting dealmaking was a strong year for Wall Street in 2024. The average bonus for employees in New York City’s securities industry rose 31.5% last year to $244,700 on average, according to a March report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. 

“Wall Street is joined at the hip with the Hamptons,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel. “The securities industry in New York City had the largest profits in history in 2024, and the largest bonus pool, and that’s feeding this outsize performance and sales activity in the Hamptons.”

A home for less than $1 million is increasingly hard to find in the Hamptons. Of the sales that closed in the second quarter, about 69% sold for at least that price.

Before the pandemic, in the second quarter of 2019, only 36.5% of Hamptons deals sold for above $1 million.

Hampton Bays was the only part of the South Fork where the median price remained below $1 million in the second quarter, at $849,000, according to a market report published by the brokerage William Raveis.

Some of the factors that have held back the market on the rest of Long Island — such as elevated mortgage rates making it more expensive to buy a home — are less relevant in the Hamptons, where wealthy buyers have greater access to cash, said Judi Desiderio, senior vice president at William Raveis in East Hampton.

Still, the improvement in sales activity is in comparison to a lackluster 2024 for the Hamptons, she said.

“Compared to a not-so-good year, we’re doing a little better,” Desiderio said.