The New Trickle Down: House Sales To Ailing Mortgage Revenues

By Lona Rubenstein

East Hampton - Well those brokers that predicted heavy traffic this summer may be right. This past weekend, right before Memorial Day, was indeed heavy. Last minute renters coming out? Realizing that summer is about here? And they are about there? Who knows? But busy, yes. We hope businesses did well. And realtors, too.

Are your high-end buyers disapppearing? Or are high-end homes going on the market at a faster rate? Photo courtesy of Town & Country

Old restaurants opened for the season, most with new names, some with new cuisines, and at least one causing real estate /neighbor problems. More on this and that in the future.

As to the local economy - all East End towns are having budget problems; huge deficits. The industry can help out by selling more as mortgage tax is way down compared with past years. Perhaps, and finally, brokers will be recognized as the heroes they can be - helping buyers, sellers, landlords, renters and town governments.

We do have to commend them and ask why East Hampton Village taxes were not hit by all of this? Did they simply plan better?

East Hampton Town may be selling some real estate they own to deal with budget problems. Investors should keep any eye on this. They are talking about seven acres off of Daniel's Hole Road and two building lots adjacent to Duck Creek Farm on Three Mile Harbor Road. They are also considering selling the town-owned office suites on Pantigo Road.

Southold's Cathleen Dolson has joined Town and Country Real Estate, bringing 15 years of residential experience and investor transactions. We are told that Dolson has sold properties in all ranges and that her hallmark is professional service to both clients and customers.

Are your high-end buyers disapppearing? Or are high-end homes going on the market at a faster rate? In an article called "Soak the Rich, Lose the Rich" by Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore, the writers explain that "Americans know how to use the moving van to escape high taxes," calling Governor Paterson's plan a soak-the-rich policy that makes people move to low, or no-tax states, like Texas or Tennessee. "Here's the problem for states that want to pry more money out of the wallets of rich people. It never works because people, investment capital and businesses are mobile. They can leave tax-unfriendly states and move to tax-friendly states."

The authors cite research from Richard Vedder of Ohio University that found that from "1998 to 2007, more than 1,100 people every day, including Sundays and holidays, moved from the nine highest income-tax states, such as California, New Jersey, New York and Ohio, and relocated mostly to the nine tax-haven states with no income tax, including Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire and Texas. We also found that over these same years, the no-income tax states created 89 percent more jobs and had 32 percent faster personal income growth than their high-tax counterparts."

Laffer is president of Laffer Associates. Moore is senior economics writer for The Wall Street Journal. They are co-authors of "Rich States, Poor States" (American Legislative Exchange Council, 2009).

Westerly is an extraordinary brick Georgian country house located in the heart of Southampton's prized estate section. Photo courtesy of The Corcoran Group

Yes well, any more good news? Here's some! This is a statement from Daren Blomquist of RealtyTrac exclusive to Realty Takes! "We're not seeing much[foreclosure] activity on the eastern end of Suffolk. There were no properties with foreclosure filings in the town of Southold in April 2009, as well as in March 2009 and April 2008. The same was true for East Hampton. Southampton saw six new default notices in April 2009, up from zero the previous month and two in April 2008."

And the Corcoran Group reports that Westerly, one of the largest and most prominent estates on eastern Long Island, is now being marketed exclusively by Tim Davis, senior managing director of The Corcoran Group. Westerly is an extraordinary brick Georgian country house located in the heart of Southampton's prized estate section. Built in 1929, this 25-room mansion was designed by the renowned architectural firm Hiss & Weeks. This beautiful home with expansive brick terraces boasts a separate carriage house, pool pavilion, pool and tennis court, all sited on 15.4 park-like acres. The vast meadows, formal gardens, and specimen trees are all set behind privacy gates and tall hedges. "This is a wonderful opportunity to own this gracious historic estate with subdivision potential," stated Davis.

The question is, are they moving to Tennessee? Because East End real estate is a very strange business.