Business & Tech

Real Estate Report: Local Homes Sell When the Price is Right

Numbers from Daniel Gale Sotheby's report that when homes hit the market with the right price, they sell quickly.

Homes sit on the market for far less time if they are advertised at a price that fits in with current market conditions, according to a report released last week from

Each quarter, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty generates 20 individual real estate market reports covering communities from Manhasset and Garden City to Southold and Shelter Island. The reports compare numbers of transactions, number of days homes stay on the market, and median and average sale prices of homes from January 1 to June 30 of 2010 to the same time period this year.

January through June is traditionally one of the busiest times for real estate transactions, and often a predictor of the overall health of the market, according to the report. This year, fewer homes are hitting the market – 136 in 2010 compared to 74 this year in Cutchogue, for example, said Carol Tintle, senior vice president and regional manager of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s.

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On average, homes took 78 days to sell in 2010 and 210 days to sell in 2011, according to the report.

“Homes are selling slower this year because the prices haven’t adjusted to the market,” she said. “But what we are finding is that if a home is priced really well, it will stay on the market for maybe a week.”

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How do those working in real estate know how to find that perfectly balanced price? Tintle said that it’s a matter of knowing your competition – what is selling quickly where and for how much.

“What has sold that is similar to the house you’re trying to sell?” she said. “If something in the same sort of neighborhood that is the same size and condition as the home you are trying to sell sold for $500,000, then you should try get as close to $500,000 as you can.”

Tintle added that properly priced waterfront homes are selling particularly well so far this year, and that those looking for second homes in which to retire on the North Fork are taking advantage of low interest rates.

But the right price is still the key to the sale, she said.

“When the homes we represent come to market with the correct pricing, they sell quickly and typically within 10 percent of their offering price,” Tintle said.

Go to danielgale.com for more information.


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