There’s an old saying at Lewis & Nickles Real Estate which has never been more true — “if a property does not sell in less than 6 months then it was not priced correctly”. To put that statement more positively “a correctly priced property will definitely sell in less than 6 months.”

For nearly the past 10 years, as real estate market values were accelerating towards the sky, prices reached historic levels never before seen here on the North Fork of Long Island. During this unprecedented period of appreciation correctly priced properties often sold in a matter of weeks or even days while others stagnated on the market for many months and some for years before they sold.

In fact, there are still some properties that have been on the market for 2-3 years now that are still priced too high above the market and they have developed a stigma that buyers can detect. If you are considering selling your property in the near future, this is definitely a situation that you want to avoid.

While this type of extreme overpricing is not the norm, at any given time, we at Lewis & Nickles estimate between 40-60% of properties are not priced correctly when first placed on the market and suffer longer periods on the market than necessary. These properties ultimately sell once a price adjustment has been made but the initial frenzy that would have occurred if first introduced to the market at the correct price has been lost.

While the market was very forgiving of mis-priced properties as it was marching rapidly higher — this is no longer the case. Now that the market has leveled off and price appreciation has returned to a more historical, normal rate, we cannot emphasize enough how important choosing the correct pricing strategy is to our client’s bottom line. In this market environment, the demand is still very strong where properties are priced very closely to their Fair Market Value.

At first glance, one realizes it is counter-intuitive to think that a lower priced property will ultimately sell for more money than others of the same ilk until one realizes that most buyers are competing for those few properties priced almost exactly right. As a direct result, these properties create so much demand, they actually have the highest probability of selling at the top of the market for the very best price and terms possible. Posted by John J. Nickles, Jr.

In January, I was sworn in for my second term as President of The Hamptons & Northfork REALTORS Association at a breakfast meeting for our members at the Indian Island Golf Club. At this meeting as I talked to members from all over the east end, I heard a lot of anecdotal evidence that the year was getting off to good start. Buyers are calling, making appointments for showings and making offers and deals. Summer renters are also showing up. For those still waiting for the real estate market “bubble burst”, the market appears to be moving forward without them.

A review of actual sales so far this year indicates that a surprising number of properties sold in thirty days or less. It is an indication that todays savvy buyers recognize when a property is priced at market value, and when they see it they buy it. The buyers are out there, and they are prepared to buy accurately priced properties, and take advantage of mortgage interest rates which are still at historically low rates.

We have been trying to educate our sellers that we can sell their property for them at the top of this real estate market, if they will only just price their property accurately.

It is apparent to many of this markets observers that the appreciation rate has leveled off starting back in the middle of 2005. What this means for the sellers is that if they price their property way out in front of this market, it will take a long time for the market to reach their asking price and the resultant sale.

jjn

The consensus in our local real estate market is that the “Bubble Bursting Theory” has not kicked in on the eastern end of Long Island. which includes the Hamptons and North Fork resort-second home market.

What we have observed is a real estate market that has taken a breath , and that this market is returning to a more normal market conditions. Does anyone recall what a normal market is after six consecutive years of record breaking sales and record increase in residential home values ?

The increase in values are very apparent on homes that are waterfront or have waterfront amenities here in the township of Southold…demand for waterfront properties is still strong, and buyers are paying top dollar for the best locations.

The Summer rental market had a resurgence this past summer after five years of being in the doldrums, and we expect another active rental season for 2007. The rental market will be driven by those folks who may want to take a wait and see approach to buying on eastern long island. They are gambling that prices will come down, but they are ignoring mortgage interest rates which are historicaly low… with thirty year fixed rate loans hovering in the vicinity of six percent.

Welcome to my blog on North Fork real estate. Our family has four generations of North Fork real estate experience of serving our communities real estate needs; as such I have an expert long range view of the market, trends and values.

Regularly I will be commenting on the state of the North Fork real estate market and things you should know whether you are selling your home or buying a home.

Feel free to comment and join me as we discuss North Fork real estate.