If you’re paying even the slightest attention to the North Fork housing market, you know that inventory is low and prices are high.
Total year-over-year (YOY) sales rose 30.6% last quarter. What’s more, the $789,394 average sales price was 26.8% higher than this time last year. The area’s median sales price also rose to $620,000, an 18.1% gain, according to the First Quarter 2021 Residential Market Report for the Hamptons and North Fork from Brown Harris Stevens.
Inventory dropped 11% last quarter and 58.4% YOY, according to the Douglas Elliman Q1 2021 North Fork Sales Report.
If you’re considering taking advantage of demand for North Fork property by selling yours, you may be wondering how to best value your home.
In the past, prospective sellers could rely on comparables, or comps, to see how much similar homes sold for, in order to gauge how much theirs might be worth.
Thanks to a sizzling market, that strategy alone may not work.
“The market is constantly shifting, now more than ever, so past home sales quickly become obsolete as a guide to current or future value,” said Bridget Elkin, licensed real estate salesperson, Compass. “On the North Fork, where properties and neighborhoods are so varied, it’s a bit more complicated a process than it would be in a suburban setting with more uniformity.”
Elkin said that the best way to determine the value of your home is to solicit the services of a real estate agent who can compile a market analysis.
“The analysis will involve pulling together a list of relevant home sales and making adjustments for the home’s condition, location and the unique characteristics of the home and property,” she said.
There are many factors that go into assessing the value of a North Fork home. They include understanding the condition and location of the home, proximity to private beaches and parks, included deeded beaches or docks, and the home’s special features and amenities, said Susan Orioli, broker/owner, NOFO real estate.
“All of these items as a whole are utilized to compare the home to that of recently closed properties in similar areas to determine pricing,” she said. “It is pertinent that a seller enlist a competent local real estate agent that knows the current market and that will represent the seller’s best interests from beginning to end, especially starting with correct listing price. Pricing is important, even in a seller’s market, as the goal is to elicit the highest sales price in the most efficient manner.”
Some homeowners may look to the Internet and real estate websites that use algorithms to check their home’s worth. Kristy Naddell, licensed associate real estate broker, Douglas Elliman, said this is a bad idea.
When valuing a property, “it’s important for an agent to see a home in person, or via FaceTime, and review any and all upgrades made to the house,” she said. An online estimate may not be as accurate, she said, because “it uses an algorithm to determine value, but it doesn’t take many important factors into consideration.”
The good news is that securing the services of a real estate agent to provide a home valuation is not only the most reliable method, but a cost-effective one too.
“The fastest, most accurate way is to ask a real estate agent what your house would sell for in the current market conditions,” said Thomas McCloskey, licensed associate real estate broker, Douglas Elliman. “This is a service that many top agents will provide for free.”
