would love to see a " favorite price chop" thread

I think listing prices out in the Hamptons are so irrelevant right now. They are completely out of touch with reality so I am not even sure its fun to track them honestly.

True...but I would think foreclosure pressures are mounting. I received an "auction" from Prudential...crazy price drops. Think 60%.

I'd agree. There are still 1500sqft houses asking $750k out there. One broker told me he guarantees his $750k listing will be back in the $900s inside of two years. This one below I 'saved' because I thought they were somewhat coming around to reality.

http://www.streeteasy.com/hamptons/sale/144547-house-5-park-st-east-hampton

What did you receive - an auction notice? Didn't Pru host an auction a few months back and only 1 or 2 listings even meet the minimum?

Rhino - That is CRAZY speak from a broker. No one can guarantee where any free market investment is going. He should lose his license. I would never do business with anyone who made such a ridiculous statement.

I know. Does anyone know of a historical data source. I'd like some perspective on where that market was in the late 1990s. I have friends who bought a pretty decent house in East Hampton for like $400k in 2000. Maybe the trick is to offer $400k on a bunch of $750k asks and see what sticks.

I have friends who bough a little xxx mint cape 4br 2 ba in Southampton SOH with a big double lot with fabulous tall hedges and a pool..$500K...

Love to see that come back...

1999 --

Its incredible the move prices made out there since the 1990s. There is so much on the market out there. Sellers are so anchored to 2004-2008 prices. It seems they are even further off the true clearing price than sellers in Manhattan.

I agree with Rhino that Hamptons sellers are less realistic than NYC sellers. (I am house shopping in both markets)

This surprised me because I thought that owners would dump second homes before their primary residences in NYC.

I think people are hoping for a bounce -- it takes a few years for people to deplete their cash reserves at which point we will likely see a sharp move downward in both markets --

YBJO, they will- it just takes longer (close to two years) to actually get to foreclosure in NY state. Subscribe to some of the lis pendens (preforeclosure) sites on the east end, and you'll get a feel for what's coming. Check the actions that took place a year and a half ago...not so different from those rolling in now, in terms of numbers. Many in Southampton and East Hampton.

already chopped over 40% from initial ask. still significantly overpriced in my book.

http://www.streeteasy.com/hamptons/sale/369991-house-31-franklin-drive-montauk

31 franklin Its a Corcoran Cottage Zillow at 840 A nearby house is at 695 Do i hear 550 ??

WAit till the Fall fall coming azil..Price Chops will astound us all !!

Another postage stamp. That place is a joke...500 square feet. They will be LUCKY to get $500k.

Look at Hamptons prices in the 1990s....then in 2006. The spread is so huge. The sellers are anchored to 2006. It really is insane. They all need to start asking for 40% of peak price. Its a joke.

A lot of the places I've seen need to be priced 75%+ off peak - there's a secular shift that just started where owning a second home isn't going to be as big a priority, I don't care how wealthy you are. And it's tough to justify dropping $2-4mm on a decent place when you can just rent one for $25-50K for the season now that rents are down 50%+.

CEO of my old hedge fund just rented a $6mm ask in Sag Harbor for $80k for the summer. They were asking $130k. There was a lot of wealth creation in 1999-2008, but I agree. There is no reason any real estate should go for more than it went for in 1996-1998 except for a modest inflation factor.

Rhino - great anecdotal evidence.

I think it's going to be interesting to see how hamptons sellers deal with the secular shift (or don't). I see manhattan prices as going through a large cyclical correction but not a secular correction - and I see the hamptons as going through both cyclical and secular corrections - much like newspapers and they've proven the combo can be a brutal combination for value destruction.

It seems like I hear a lot of people arguing that hamptons sellers can just wait it out until they get their price - I'm calling BS on that one - you can't fight a secular shift and if you try to do so you will get burned even more.

If you can put $6mm into a bond fund and make 5% and not pay real estate taxes, it kinda doesn't make sense for him to buy that place. Haha. Actually I think the financial industry faces the end of a secular era, which will impact Manhattan the same as the Hamptons in my view.... Like Byron Wein said, when he started as an analyst in the 60s, he made the same as a doctor or top lawyer. That went haywire from 1980 to 2008...I think it becomes normalized from here.

NYC1 IS on the Money! I only wish some of the thousands trying to rent or sell their E Hampton white elephants could read his points..More importantly when are these brokers going to start TELLING THEIR CLIENTS THE TRUTH ?

Brokers out there are the best. One told me he guarantees these houses e was showing me in the 700s would be right back in th 900s in two years.

another nice chopper. waterfront too.

http://www.streeteasy.com/hamptons/sale/112825-house-hampton-bays

Shows lack of demand for hampton bays...as the prime hamptons decline, the "Fringe" hamptons will fare worse...also, with no pictures of kitchen/baths, most likely a fixer-upper...600k will get it done

Thats tellin it like it is Apt Boy !! Cant wait for September CHOPS !!

Azil: that is an awesome price chop! Now, if we can get that in East Hampton--now we are talking. Thanks for the catch.

http://www.streeteasy.com/hamptons/sale/181944-house-southampton

Bill Lovely 204K CHOP on 30 Quarty CT in EH Azil.. Time to visit that one or more CHOPS coming ?

Azil and SunC...both of those chops are awesome! 1.8 down to 1. Although, the 30 Quarty one does not show photos of the house--which always worries me.

Keep the Chops going!

No photo worrisome Possible Short Sale or just a choking homeowner/broker ??

Considering the plummet in the asking price for 241 Sebonac, you would think they would have done something to update that busted 1980's decor. I mean, seriously... a 1+ million dollar listing with balloon valences and carpeting?

Who cares what the chop is %u2013 unless the home was properly valued in the first place (and the market shifted)? Are these real price chops or simply irrational asks

Sunclaus, do you mind telling me where you're from? Your comments make me laugh out loud with the capitalized "CHOP"- so thank you- and you appear to have some decent insight. Just curious.
I did read recently that some of the less monied (now) WS'ers, rather than having the embarrassment of a foreclosure will be doing the CHOP- additionally, strategic defaults are on the radar for the well heeled. It's going to get interesting in the Hamptons.

Fair enough Not own yet in East End..Are you a East End Real Estate agent?

How can the situation that exists at say 34 Settlement Ct East Hampton be happening at all eastagent?
ASK Price 8/1/09 $1,500,000 CHOP 8/20/09 $1,275,000 CHOP TODAY / $999,990 ??

The property is 4B 3.5Bth 1.4 Acres Pool ..Is this a Shortsale or an out of control Agent abusing his client . OR IS THERE SOMETHING VERY BAD OUT THERE that BROKERS ARE HIDING ???

Looks like a cheesy 80s cheap construction. It should be well under one million!!!!

sunclaus, not sure. It shows up under "24" Settlement court in public records, with no lis pendens showing- could be that the sellers and agent agreed, before listing, to price it higher but provide price drops at a decided-by-both interval. Hey- at least they're working toward a price that a buyer will accept! Better to CHOP every 45 days than to let a house fester for three years, as some seem to.

Good point Eastender ..Actually that IS my point..Agents are doing that a thousand times over .They are not allowing a Free Market to function properly .Heres another one 591 Hands Creek Road EH
9/23/06 ASK 1,245,000 CHOP
9/26/08 ASK 1,095,000 CHOP 2/14/09 969,000 CHOP 3/3 949,000 6/22 899,000 8/07 849,000
This Owner enjoying the Ride?? Another 50K soon ??

http://www.streeteasy.com/hamptons/sale/112589-house-southampton

Looks like owner giving up on attempt to flip profitably. purchased mid 2006 for $985k and put back on market shortly thereafter.

http://www.streeteasy.com/hamptons/closing/813355

Way to go Azil Smoking out another Corcoran puppet show !! This guy lucky to walk away with 850K
by 2011 CHOP..CHOP

http://www.streeteasy.com/hamptons/sale/144191-house-55-alewive-brook-rd-east-hampton

Wow...good catch Azil. 2 mill down to 1 mill. I gotta say, place looks kinda creepy though.

KEEP UP finding the CHOPS Azil...Looks like you dont get much if you subtract the 2K sq ft art studio

This might just be at 899,000 by February: http://www.streeteasy.com/hamptons/sale/181944-house-southampton

Guys, any new favorite Price Chops?? Things are getting slow.

Here's one. I agree, discussion here has gone from slow to anemic.

http://streeteasy.com/hamptons/sale/339797-house-31-jessup-avenue-quogue

Drop of over 30% from initial price. Looks like a nice house, but in this market who is going to pay so much to live right on montauk hwy? Assuming there is street noise, this listing will probably linger.

Good catch. That has been on the mkt for almost two years...I bet you could get for 650k.

I love the strategy. Doesn't sell, so raise the price $10M.

http://streeteasy.com/hamptons/sale/449508-land-bridgehampton

Local Hamptons brokerage Town & Country Real Estate has released its 4th quarter market report and it looks like ’09 ended with a nice little pop: 47% increase in overall sales from '08 to '09, with median prices rising over 12%.

Looks like you may be missing the boat here. I'm back in!

Limstone must be gettin paid off..SELL SELL SELL CHOP CHOP CHOP into 2010 Fall

Homes sales on the East End of Long Island saw a stunning leap in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to a market report released today by Prudential Douglas Elliman.

The number of sales on the East End, which includes the Hamptons and North Fork, jumped 55.4 percent in the fourth quarter to 564, from 363 in the same quarter of 2008 and 22.9 percent from 459 in the third quarter, the report determined.

In the Hamptons area of Long Island's South Fork, sales skyrocketed 59 percent in the fourth quarter to 409 from 257 in the prior-year quarter, and 20.6 percent from 339 in the third quarter. Median sales prices rose 4.9 percent to $917,900 in the fourth quarter from $875,000 in the same period of 2008, and increased 13.3 percent from $810,000 in the third quarter. However, the average price of a Hamptons home -- $1.59 million -- dipped 12.3 percent from the prior-year-quarter.

The North Fork showed a similar uptick, with sales activity surging 46.2 percent to 155 from 106 in the prior-year quarter. North Fork price trends showed more weakness than the Hamptons, however. The median sales price in the North Fork in the fourth quarter was $450,000, 10 percent less than $500,000 in the same period of 2008.

The fourth quarter saw the highest level of sales on the East End in two years, said appraiser Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel, who prepared the report. (For a story about the Hamptons residential market over the last decade, click here.)

Tiger Tells us PRICES FALL CHOP CHOP

I am with GoingDown - whether short term or not, the market is very busy right now per my broker. Just from this board - GoingDown - this listing you brought up earlier http://www.streeteasy.com/hamptons/sale/181944-house-southampton got sold in December - for $985K, before it had a chance to drop to $899K... This one got sold in October for $950K - http://www.streeteasy.com/hamptons/sale/369991-house-31-franklin-drive-montauk (sunclaus1 early comment about this house - "31 franklin Its a Corcoran Cottage Zillow at 840 A nearby house is at 695 Do i hear 550 ?? WAit till the Fall fall coming azil..Price Chops will astound us all!!") Hmmmm...Not quite...
This house on 5 Park St in EH got sold as well, and here, the owners just increased price - http://www.streeteasy.com/hamptons/sale/112589-house-southampton
IMO, if there are huge chops coming, it aint going to happen this season...

History for 241 Sebonac

Date Event Price
Dec 22, 2009 Sold (Public Records) $985,000
Jan 19, 2006 Sold (Public Records) $1,285,000
Dec 10, 2003 Sold (Public Records) $822,500

So even though the market is being called "BUSY", it is down at least 20% from 2006 and close to 2004 prices.

The homes being sold seem to be largely at the lower end, as evidenced by the previous posting. I've seen several very attractive homes in the $2 million range that have been on the market for almost a year and that obviously aren't selling only because the price is too high. Frankly, potential buyers are concerned (and rightfully so) about overpaying for a house in the Hamptons, even if they can afford the asking price. I'm not looking to be negative (and am a serious buyer) but am very concerned that the prices remain at such high levels, yet the properties are not moving. I have been pre-approved for a mortgage so I can clearly afford a home here once I find one, but my mortgage broker advises me that the Hamptons is considered a "Level 3 distressed" area (4 being the worst). Anyone who buys now should do so very cautiously and not overpay. Future appreciation will likely be slow, and a buyer today should consider the real possibility of further depreciation.

Hi NeedAdvice,
I am considering bidding on a home in WM north and am trying to find a helpful mortgage broker. Would you be willing to share the name of yours? I am cautious and plan on bidding conservatively.
Many Thanks!

Apt_Boy - I would be cautious making generalizations. RE market is very property specific - maybe the buyers of 241 Sebonac overpaid in 2006? Maybe they are desperate to sell now? For one example you offered, there are many showing that prices are flat and in some cases above 2005-2006 levels.
E.g. 121 Sea Farm Lane, Bridge - bought for $877.5K in 2005, sold for $1.049M in December 2009; 39 EastView Court - bought for $725K in 2004, sold for $935K in December 2009; 4 Far Pond Road in SH - bought for $720K in 2003, sold for $1.15M in January 2010; 3 Shorewood Road, Shelter Island, bought for 1.475M in 2005, sold for $1.8M in January 2010 - within weeks of being put on the market. More - 6 Dering Line, EH - bought for $2.4M in 2005, sold for $2.35M in January 2009, 75 Westminster Road, Water Mill - bought for $2.25M in 2004, sold for $2.475M in January this year...etc, etc, etc. I don't believe any of these properties have gone through extensive renovations either. There are very few houses, especially in the lower price range, that have sold below 2005-2007 prices. Most of the homes that are selling now have also been on the market for months, if not years.
What's moving are the houses where people see value. What's sitting stale are the houses that are priced too high. As simple as that. I am not advocating for everyone to rush and buy something immediately - I personally wouldn't without doing a lot of work first, but neither would I be in the sunclaus camp and expect the property that was bought for $1.285M in 2006 sell for $550K in 2010... Be realistic and well-prepared - see the inventory that's out there, ask your broker for detailed info on houses sold recently, figure out what exactly you are looking for, and go from there. If you love a house - go ahead and make a bid. Chances are, someone else will like it as well. If nothing in your price range looks appealing to you, don't buy - else you will regret it later.
Lastly, the probability that the market to be at least flat for the next few years if pretty high, so don't go in with expectations of making a killing in a year or two, but if you buy right now and aren't forced to sell shortly, you should be fine with time.

boxer1 - maybe the sellers you mentioned "underpaid" when they purchased and are still selling at below 2006 levels...you can't have it both ways

The only point I was making is that you shouldn't say "the market is down at last 20% from 2006 levels" without showing that the majority of recent sales of houses bought in mid-2000s took place at least 20% below the purchase price. On the other hand, I've provided enough evidence that supports a different conclusion. This is not the matter of opinion, but simple facts.

Silly Boxer - From PDE report:

Median Price:

2009: 675k
2008: 750k
2007: 860k
2006: 772.5k
2005: 750k

So, the market is down per this "Broker" report 13% from 2006 and 22% from 2007...add a few percent for Broker exagerations and BAM, you are there

Oliver - use MARK POITRAS

mpoitras@pareast.com
PAR East Mortgage Company
15 Toilsome Lane
East Hampton, NY 11937
Phone: 631-907-8220
Fax: 631-907-8120

VERY good, very nice. We've had good success with him. He was able to push back on a lot of the bank's unreasonable requirements and excess paperwork.

You should know your statistics Apt_Boy before making degrading comments. The broker is looking at the median price, or "the numeric value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half" - so if there are a lot more sales in the lower end of the marker and just a few disappear from the higher end (which always have a lot fewer homes for sale vs. the inventory below $1M), the median will be skewed meaningfully towards the lower end... Stop taking it personally - I have no vested interest in arguing that the prices stopped falling; all I am doing is trying to provide whatever info I can to help others (and myself) with price discovery. The only way from my point of view to be able to tell where prices are now vs. where they were a few years ago is to look at the sales that took place in 2009-2010 of the houses that were bought back then. So please take a look at the hard data before you make any other uninformed statements. These are almost all sales in the certain prices range (roughly between $1M-$3M) for houses that have been bought in the last 6 years and sold since January 2009, and count how many are "at least 20 percent below 2006" (I am not giving the exact addresses, and data on newly built houses is omitted since it's not meaningful)

Yr bought Price Sold Price
2007 $1.1M 1/2009 $1.242M
2006 $952K 1/2009 $930K
2005 $2.58M 2/2009 $2.642M
2005 $962K 3/2009 $1.075M
2006 $1.83M 3/2009 $2.3M
2006 $995K 4/2009 $1.1M
2005 $985K 5/2009 $1.16M
2004 $1.5M 5/2009 $1.475M
2007 $1.96M 5/2009 $1.9M
2005 $710K 6/2009 $975K
2005 $1.3M 6/2009 $1.495M
2007 $1.78M 6/2009 $1.75M
2006 $1.48M 6/2009 $1.99M
2005 $2.7M 6/2009 $3.05M
2005 $2.3M 6/2009 $2.25M
2004 $1.3M 7/2009 $1.235K
2007 $3.08M 8/2009 $3.225M
2004 $735K 9/2009 $840K
2006 $2.6M 9/2009 $2.75M
2007 $2.4M 9/2009 $2.45M
2006 $825K 10/2009 $1.135M
2006 $1.78M 10/2009 $1.35M
2007 $1.3M 10/2009 $1.2M
2004 $1.98M 10/2009 $2.47M
2005 $925K 11/2009 $985K
2005 $1.48M 11/2009 $1.015M
2004 $875K 11/2009 $1.25M
2006 $1.8M 11/2009 $1.68M
2005 $877K 12/2009 $985K
2006 $1.285K 12/2009 $985K
2007 $3.875M 12/2009 $3.45M
2006 $3.75M 12/2009 $2.875M
2004 $2.25M 12/2009 $2.475M
2007 $1.715M 1/2010 $1.61M
2005 $1.475M 1/2010 $1.8M
2005 $2.3M 1/2010 $2.755M
2005 $995K 1/2010 $835K
2005 $2.1M 1/2010 $2.9M
2005 $2.4M 1/2010 $2.35M
2006 $1.7M 1/2010 $1.411M
2007 $1.295M 1/2010 $1.490M
2004 $861K 1/2010 $1.1M

Today's Prudential Douglas Elliman Hamptons market report proffers up a bunch of new real estate numbers from the first quarter of 2010 to chew over%u2014numbers that at first blush make the market almost seem superheated. Median sales prices up 34.6% to $908,500, versus last year's first quarter! Median sales prices for the top 10% of the market up nearly the same, 34.2%, to $5,484,934. And the report clocks 486 sales in the quarter, versus a paltry 201 in the dark days of early 2009. Not bad at all.

Thank god all the naysayers "forget" to get in while the getting was good.

Has anyone seen any good price chops?

Yes, I did. I saw Sunclaus' weanie. It was chopped off and used as bait by a Montauk fisherman.

streetsmart , dont be a bitch

Here's a good price chop, suckers: from today's CURBED.COM SITE

"It's that time: midyear market reports are due! And with sale prices up 10% and units sold up 113%, some might say 2010 has thus far been a winning year for the East End. Most of the staple neighborhoods, like East Hampton, Bridgehampton, Sagaponack, Quogue, and Southampton, lead the way with 20-50% increases in average sale prices. Meanwhile, other prime areas (Amagansett, Montauk, and Water Mill) saw decreases in their average sale prices%u2014even as sales volume increased. Similarly, the North Fork "saw improved activity, though not as dramatic as in the Hamptons."

Muromec, get a life , bro.