Private beach, pool and a $8M price tag: Cutchogue home breaks sales record
A home perched high above Peconic Bay in Cutchogue recently sold for $8 million in the highest-priced sale on the North Fork so far this year.
The sale, which closed in late June, represents an all-time high for a single-lot property in Cutchogue, according to data from OneKey MLS. It was also tied for the second-most ever paid for a house on the North Fork, matching the price of a nearly 6,500-square-foot bayfront house in Southold that sold in May 2022.
The deal ranks behind a single-family home that sold in Mattituck in October for $10 million.
More buyers who might have previously purchased in the Hamptons are also expanding their searches to include the North Fork, said real estate agent Bridget Elkin, who co-listed the house with her husband, Eric Elkin.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- A Cutchogue home recently sold for $8 million in the highest-priced sale on the North Fork so far this year.
- The North Fork real estate market has seen the median price of a home rise 69% since the second quarter of 2019.
- The home's elevation and sweeping views of Peconic Bay helped boost its value, agents said.
"When you have a home like this that’s somewhat traditional, but modern, it will speak to both a North Fork shopper and a South Fork shopper, and that makes a huge difference," said Bridget Elkin, an agent at Compass in Southold.
Home prices on the North Fork have risen significantly in recent years and the second quarter marked the first time the median sale price rose above $1 million. Since 2019, the median price on the North Fork increased 69% from $644,500 to nearly $1.1 million in the second quarter.
A record price for a given area serves as a reference point for future buyers — and gives sellers more confidence to push the envelope with pricing, said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Manhattan appraisal firm Miller Samuel.
This home on Peconic Bay in Cutchogue sold for $8 million in the highest-priced sale on the North Fork so far this year. Credit: Tyler Sands
"It fosters more aspirational pricing," he said. "Sellers get emboldened in terms of pricing and some of them achieve the number they want, but it doesn’t mean they always do."
Miller said the sale follows a trend he's noticed across the country in which the most expensive deals have become further detached from the broader housing market. In this case, the home sold for about eight times the price of the median deal on the North Fork.
"The high-end market is moving further away from the balance of the market and prices like this in the North Fork are evidence of that," Miller said.
Private beach, heated pool
The Cutchogue home, which was rebuilt in 2009, is about 67 feet above the beach at its highest point, giving it the greatest elevation among homes in the Nassau Point neighborhood.
"It’s rare to get this sort of elevation on the bay," Elkin said.
The 5,500-square-foot home, with five bedrooms and 5½ bathrooms, includes primary suites on both the main and second floor. The home sits on nearly two acres and includes a finished basement with a bar and walkout doors that open to its heated pool.
The 5,500-square-foot home includes a finished basement with a bar and walkout doors that open to its heated pool. Credit: Tyler Sands
A staircase in the backyard leads down to a 200-foot private bay beach with a covered cabana.
The owners, who Elkin declined to name, had recently invested in a bluestone patio surrounding the pool and had continued making upgrades even after the 2009 rebuild, which helped them maximize the price, Elkin said.
"A lot of people fall into the trap of buying second homes newly constructed and then 15 years go by and they haven't done a thing," she said.
A staircase in the backyard leads down to a 200-foot private bay beach with a covered cabana. Credit: Tyler Sands
The couple who purchased the home appreciated the views of the bay from multiple vantage points both inside the house and from its patio, said Jerry Cibulski, an associate broker at Century 21 Albertson Realty in Southold who represented the buyers. He declined to disclose the buyers’ names.
"It’s a very unique location with the elevation and the views," Cibulski said. "It’s a wider lot, and with that terrain change, it’s just unlike anything else that’s out there."
The house last sold in 2006 for just over $2.9 million. Annual taxes on the property are about $51,000, according to the listing.
Restrictions in the Town of Southold on the size of new or reconstructed homes, which took effect in 2022, could help boost future prices for large homes, Cibulski said.
While the house is one of the most expensive ever sold on the North Fork, it still comes at a discount compared with the top tier of Hamptons real estate. Last year, the 10 most expensive homes on the South Fork all commanded $20 million or more.
Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.
