Long Island Waterfront Homes August Market Trends Report
There are several different types of waterfront homes on Long Island (ocean, bay, sound, river, canal, lake), and each has its own appeal. Waterfront homes can be found throughout Long Island in a variety of towns, price ranges and bodies of water.
Because of the vast offerings, it is a bit more challenging to perform a simple analysis of the overall trend for waterfront homes. This waterfront market report is a recap of the month of August, the first two quarters of the year, and July for both 2007 and 2008, and will show the number of new homes that came on the market and the number of closings that occurred during August. Average listing prices and sales prices will also be provided, along with a trend analysis.
If you have any questions about waterfront homes on Long Island, please feel free to contact me directly. If you would like to stay current with the waterfront market on Long Island, you can either check back regularly for updates of new listings, or send me an e-mail requesting to be put onto an e-mail list to receive the updates automatically. My contact information is listed at the bottom of the page.
The following is this month's market data. As I mentioned earlier, the disparity between waterfront home prices on Long Island makes doing the market trend analysis a bit of a challenge, which is why the report is broken down by price ranges, rather than location. The price ranges are as follows: under $1 million, $1,000,000 - $1,999,999 and $2 million and over. Using these price ranges allows me to provide a more accurate depiction of the market than grouping all waterfront homes in one general category.
These trends are for the market, and do not necessarily translate to any individual home. If you are thinking about selling your waterfront home, you should have a market analysis done for your particular home. If you are looking to purchase a waterfront home, I strongly suggest hiring a buyer's agent to help you "navigate the waters" of the current real estate market.
LONG ISLAND WATERFRONT HOMES - UNDER $1 MILLION
TREND ANALYSIS: The rising inventory numbers have slowed again this month. While the numbers are still rising at a faster pace than 2007, it is only by a negligible amount. The average list price and sales price continued to show improvement. The ratio between sales price and list price deteriorated, which means that more homeowners needed to reduce their price to accomodate homebuyers. The average days on market rose to its highest level since 2007, but only by a slight margin in comparison to the first two quarters of the year.
CONCLUSION: Due to the fact that a broad price range is being used, it's possible to have month-to-month fluctuation based on where the majority of the sales came from, as evidenced by the large gain in list price and sales price for the month.
Waterfront homeowners that are motivated to sell their homes should take into account that there is still a decent amount of inventory, and there is a lot of competition for waterfront homebuyers. Now, more than ever, it is essential to price your home for today's market conditions. The homes that are likely to sell are going to be the ones that are priced properly.
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS for homebuyers looking to purchase a waterfront home for under $1 million. Inventory is up and prices are down, and if this month is any indication, the prices have become much more negotiable in many cases. Anyone that was looking to move into a waterfront home in time to enjoy waterfront activities has already found their home, which could mean less competition for the most desirable homes.
LONG ISLAND WATERFRONT HOMES - $1,000,000 - $1,999,999
TREND ANALYSIS: Due to the fact that there is limited activity in this segment of the market, and that the price range is broad, the statistics and trends are volatile, and subject to fluctuation from month-to-month.
CONCLUSION: The numbers for July were heavily skewed by 4 homes that were listed and sold at the high end of the price range. Each of these homes sold for significantly below asking price, which is the main reason that the ratio of sales price to list price was so low last month. In August, the ratio of sales price to list price showed great improvement, even though the average prices declined. Inventory numbers continue to rise albeit at a slower pace than earlier in the year.
Homeowners that are motivated to sell their waterfront homes must take into account that there is still a large inventory of waterfront homes on the market from the first two quarters of the year. The homes that are selling are the ones that are priced to sell, or the ones that consider all offers that are in line with the comparables.
Homebuyers that are looking to buy a waterfront home in this price range will find a lot of homes to choose from, and a good opportunity to get the most home for your money.
LONG ISLAND WATERFRONT HOMES - OVER $2 MILLION
TREND ANALYSIS: This segment of the waterfront home market is the most difficult to analyze because there is a very limited amount of data. Aside from the lack of data, there is also the fact that waterfront homes can sell for well above $2 million, and any multi-million home sale can create vast fluctuations.
CONCLUSION: While analyzing the overall segment of the market is challenging, there is some information that can be gathered. The inventory of homes continues to rise, as very few homes are selling in this price range. The one thing that can be determined by the ratio of sales price to list price is that home sellers are pricing their homes at a level that is significantly higher than homebuyers are willing to pay.
Homeowners and homebuyers should seek out professional advice as to the current market value of a home.
CONTACT: Adam Waldman, RE/MAX Best, 631-357-2036, adam@adamwaldman.com
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