Wealthy New Yorkers who fled the city for the Hamptons during the COVID-19 lockdown and the violence that followed have decided to stay out East — and are fueling a massive real estate boom, according to The New York Post.
From July to September this year, almost 1 billion dollars worth of property was snapped up in the Hamptons, according to a new market report by Brown Harris Stevens.
Rising by an impressive 51.4%, sales of single-family homes in the Hamptons totalled 448 in the third quarter, the highest number of third quarter sales in 5 years, and up 51% from the same time last year, according to the report.
“The March mentality was to flee the city but now people want to stay. It’s a lifestyle choice. The pace is slower, there’s more space and it’s safe,” broker Jennifer Friedberg, of Brown Harris Stevens told the New York Post.
And there’s no sign of any slowdown, even with the election looming.
Sales surged as the coronavirus lockdown ended, in part because home buyers were once again allowed access to tour homes for sale, Philip O’Connell, BHS managing director in the Hamptons told the Post.
“The pace was frenetic once we moved into late spring, early summer, but I wasn’t expecting to see the volume double. It’s striking,” said O’Connell. “Once the COVID regulations started to ease off and people could get into homes and have showings one at a time, with masks and gloves, it just took off. There was so much pent-up demand.”
The pandemic “was a rude awakening,” for many New Yorkers, says top broker Jenny Lenz, of Dolly Lenz Real Estate.
“These buyers are New Yorkers who love the city and they are staying — but they want a place to run away to,” Jenny Lenz said.