The spring real estate market on Shelter Island has finally begun to bloom after a long winter season. Activity for both rentals and sales have picked up just in the last two weeks or so. Landlords whose houses are usually rented by mid February have been calling since the holidays to ask where the customers are hiding. Many prospective buyers and tenants seemed to hesitate at proceeding with Continue Reading

In 2018, in the category of homes and business properties, there were 44 transfers in 2018 for a total of $51,463,460 with a median price of $995k. Homes with the following characteristics sold at the strongest prices with least time on the market: staged, renovated to current buyer tastes (country-modern), cleared of seller's personal possessions, priced to comparable properties sold within the Continue Reading

As the summer 2018 season approaches Labor Day weekend, customers, clients and real estate agents review trends in the real estate market over the prior five months, which are considered the spring and summer selling season. The last two weeks of August through Labor Day are a popular vacation time; clients selling their properties are aiming to receive an offer and agreement; goal oriented Continue Reading

Distressed Properties Whenever a "Pre-Foreclosure" property appears online, customers call to ask how quickly they can purchase it - Very often the dollar value shown is what the bank is owed, and not a listing price. A few years ago, a pre-foreclosure property on Further Lane was online for $2M and a customer contacted me, breathless, saying they wanted to buy it right away. Continue Reading

The First Full Week of August The first full week of August saw an increase in activity in the Shelter Island real estate market over all price ranges. Many customers who have been house-hunting for over a year have returned with a goal. In the starter home bracket, one customer this week expressed regret that they had not pulled the trigger on a home they had negotiated and won four years Continue Reading

"Turnover Week" This week was "turnover week" in the rental market on Shelter Island. Many July tenants moved out of rental properties on Sunday, July 29th, two days early, giving Landlords time to reset their rentals for incoming August tenants, many of whom will be arriving on Friday, August 3rd. The island felt unusually quiet this week as a result. Each rental season has its own stories Continue Reading

In the Shelter Island real estate market, the second half of July brought with it more tour activity, an increase in the number of offers made on active listings, new listings coming to the market, and more requests from homeowners for an analysis of the value of their property with a thought toward selling. Over a period of three days, I had four tours that featured nearly 30 properties, Continue Reading

The statistics for properties sold during the first six months of 2018 are starting to take shape. Closings are reported to Suffolk County which reports the numbers to the Town. Because there are delays between actual closings and when each Town receives the information, a combination of our own database, used throughout the East End of Long Island, and County and Shelter Island Town reports are Continue Reading

July 4th Week Over 4th of July this year, there are two opportunities for vacationers since the holiday falls on a Wednesday: a long weekend beginning Friday June 29th or a long weekend beginning Tues July 3rd. Either way, the calendar translates to a promising real estate week ahead for both sellers and buyers. On the sales end, customers have been methodical in their search, in many cases Continue Reading