The influx of wealthy buyers who have bought $ 1 million worth of homes "is changing the look of the area," added Ms. Watson, including an abundance of demolitions, colon cleanups and increased interest in land purchases.
On the flip side, revenues from a 2 percent maintenance tax on Southampton home sales of $ 250,000 or more are up 40 percent year over year, Schneiderman said. Funds are used to buy vacant land to keep it open and to acquire development rights so farmers can continue to farm. "It has been very successful in maintaining our rural character," he said.
The "silver lining" for owners of more humble homes looking to pay off and take their luck elsewhere is that it is "time to sell", according to Ms. Watson.
Last April through June last year, Greg D’Angelo, a contractor, rented his rental property – a small pool house on a postage stamp lot in Sag Harbor – for nearly $ 80,000 to a family who fled the city. "That was our last hurray," said Mr. D & # 39; Angelo. In January, he sold the house for $ 1.5 million, concerned that the Covid eviction moratorium could make it impossible to evict unsavory tenants or squatters. "It was the market that made us sell it," he said. "I have crazy money for it."
Although the market typically slows before Thanksgiving and picks up again in February, this year we "went through the holidays to do business," said Gary DePersia, associate broker at Corcoran. "A lot of inventory that was in the market for years is gone."
On Shelter Island, a 10,000-square-foot Gambrel-style home with a 150-foot dock closed in Peconic Bay last month for $ 9.1 million after sitting in the market, initially at 10 for two to three years $ 9 million. "That's a niche market," said DePersia. "A rising tide lifts all ships."
