On the North Fork real estate market, demand remains higher than supply.
A market report detailing the fourth quarter of 2021 released by Corcoran showed a decrease in sales on the North Fork, but not due to lack of interest.
“The demand has steadily increased, and people are spending more money,” said Ernie Cervi, regional senior vice president for the East End at Corcoran.
Cervi attributed the demand to a number of factors, including the Omicron variant prompting city dwellers to want to move somewhere less densely populated and the continued development of the North Fork as a destination.
“I look back over the last five years, and we’ve seen the price increase three of the five years,” Cervi said. “This is something that’s pre-Covid. I think demand has steadily increased. People are spending more money.”
The inventory continues to shrink, partially because people who have moved here in recent years haven’t moved away after the initial Covid rush in 2020.
“We haven’t seen a rush of people listing their houses and selling to go back to Manhattan,” Cervi said. “People thought that might be the case, but that clearly has not happened.”
Sheri Winter Parker, licensed real estate Broker at Corcoran, had a very busy fourth quarter.
“It felt like people were scrambling to close,” she said. “I think Omicron made people feel like they had to secure their new location before the holidays.”
Sales of homes over $1.5 million increased by 50%, according to the report. That’s partially due to the limited inventory.
“If the sales volume is less, they spend more money,” Cervi said.
The North Fork has also become more desirable to those looking for a long-term destination, rather than a day or weekend trip, according to Winter Parker.
“I know it sounds crazy, but the food culture is just so prevalent now,” she said. “We’ve got some world-renowned chefs here.”
As the North Fork continues to develop commercially, both Winter Parker and Cervi anticipate even higher demand.
Pricing in Riverhead, for example, has gone up as the downtown Riverhead area has undergone improvements.
“Things are beautiful and there are some great stores popping up,” Cervi said.
Winter Parker also points clients to Southold, which has undergone significant developments with Einstein Square and new restaurants like Southold General.
Looking ahead to 2022, there’s still tons of demand.
“Anything we do list, we have multiple buyers that are interested in the property,” Cervi said. “That speaks to the inventory being low. We don’t have enough to meet demand, so I think we’re going to have another very, very strong year.”
Top 5 Sales of 2021
1. 845 Maple Lane, Southold | $7 million
2. 1780 Jackson Street, New Suffolk | $6.5 million
3 (tie). 1505 Naugles Drive, Mattituck | $4.25 million
3 (tie). 65 Soundview Avenue, Mattituck | $4.25 million
4. 825 Stephensons Road, Orient | $4.17 million
5. 2740 Deep Hole Drive, Mattituck | $4.1 million
