Fewer High-End Real Estate Sales
Businessweek.com's Real Estate article - In America's Richest Small Towns: Big Sales Stall - leads with "Home values are down in many of the country's most exclusive small towns. Sagaponack is again the most expensive in U.S." It says that this oceanfront town on the East End of Long Island, New York with a year-round population of 582 is America's richest small town because its "median home values were $3,406,640, the highest in the nation".
There were big price declines and fewer high-end sales - the article states that "values dropped in 33 of the 50 most expensive small towns" that were identified as having the highest median home values with populations less than 10,000.
Businessweek.com noted that some well-known markets are less active and spoke to Robert Paul Properties co-owner, Paul Grover, who along with his partner Robert Kinlin are leaders in the sale of luxury and waterfront properties across Cape Cod and South Coast of Massachusetts. "Our really high-end market is almost frozen", and buyers do not seem to want to buy above the $6 million level. With Wall Street turning around, he anticipates that demand will pick up, "but we'll see it in New York first."
The accompanying slide-show of Businessweek.com's 2011 ranking of the 50 Most Expensive Small Towns in America includes on Massachusetts town - Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard.
Read the complete article by Venessa Wong at http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/jan2011/bw20110120_278232.htm
on www.businessweek.com