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Home Sales Surging in Shelter Island and Sag Harbor

A new report on the Hamptons finds some surprising pockets of activity

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A home that has just been listed for sale in Shelter Island for $32 million.

SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY
A home that has just been listed for sale in Shelter Island for $32 million.
SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

When it comes to buying a home in the Hamptons, the more affordable towns of Shelter Island and Sag Harbor are, apparently, the new hot places to be seen.

According to a new report by Hamptons-based real estate brokerage Town & Country, Shelter Island, which has traditionally been quieter and more laid back than its glitzy neighbors, saw a record 44 sales in the first half of this year. That’s a 76% increase over the same period in 2015, when only 25 homes sold.

MORE:A Home in Shelter Island, N.Y., Lists for a Record $32 Million

Nearly $50 million changed hands in the first half of this year—almost double the total for the same period last year—while the median home sales price was up 10%, to $848,250.

However, while the town is considered to be much more affordable than many of its other counterparts, a mansion was put on the market last week for $32 million, thought to be a record asking price for the area.

Sag Harbor Village and Sag Harbor Area were also strong performers, the report showed. Sales in the former were 3% higher, at 37, than in the first half of 2015, while the median home sales price was up 28%, to $1.35 million. In the latter, sales were up 20%, at 66, while the median sales price rose almost 30%, to $1.195 million, the greatest rise of any region in the Hamptons.

In contrast, the usual crown jewels seem to have lost their luster a bit. Bridgehampton, which includes Sagaponack, saw nearly all red across the board, according to Town & Country. Sales sank 24% to 82—caused primarily by the drop in home sales activity of $10 million and up. The median sales price, meanwhile, was down almost 9%, to $2.1 million.

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Southampton Village and East Hampton Village, both popular summer playgrounds for celebrities and Wall Street types, also saw significant pullbacks. Southampton didn’t have one home sale of $10 million and up, and overall sales were down 27%, to 37. In addition, the median home sales price declined to $1.95 million, down 18.75%.

At the same time, East Hampton Village saw 31% fewer home sales in the first six months of 2016 compared with the same period last year, down to 24 from 35. The median home sales price dropped 23%, from $3.1 million to $2.4 million year-over-year.

“The silver lining for East Hampton Village was the total home sales volume spike of 36% from $167 million to $228 million year to year. It must be noted, though, that this was due to three home sales on Lily Pond Lane. Two were part of Scott Bommer’s $110 million flip,” said Judi A. Desiderio, the chief executive of Town & Country.

This report followed a survey released last week by appraisal firm Miller Samuel on behalf of Douglas Elliman Real Estate that showed sales of mansions in the Hamptons slid by almost a fifth over the past year.

Sales over the last three years have been particularly strong in the Hamptons, as would-be buyers finally regained enough confidence after the global financial crisis to take the plunge and snap up trophy homes, the Douglas Elliman report found.

However, Hamptons real estate now appears to be cooling amid saturated demand and market jitters over both the U.K.’s unexpected decision to leave the European Union and a slowing economy in China.

Experts stressed that this does not mean the market is in for a big price correction. Instead, it’s more of a reset after three years of unusually high activity, according to Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Miller Samuel and author of the report.