Main Beach, East HamptonROBERT HARDING PRODUCTIONS/GETTY IMAGES
Sales were up in the Hamptons at the end of last year, according to market reports released Thursday by some of New York’s biggest real estate brokerages.
Fourth quarter sales across the South Fork—which comprises most of the tony Hamptons towns—showed a marked improvement versus the same time the prior year when activity was suppressed due to the presidential election, Corcoran’s report said.  
“In general when there’s an election the market gets a little quiet,” Ernest Cervi, regional senior vice president of Corcoran’s East End offices, told Mansion Global. “People like to see how things are going to go, and then things pick up.”
The number of reported sales (581) in the fourth quarter was more on par with what was seen in 2015, the report said.
Of the 13 areas in South Fork that Corcoran analyzed, only one, Water Mill, logged a decline in sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the year prior. Montauk saw the biggest leap in sales numbers, logging 100% more sales than the end of 2016, followed by Remsenburg and Westhampton (up 66%) and East Hampton and Wainscott (up 62%).
The biggest increases in sales year-over-year tended to be in the areas with lower prices, according to the Corcoran report.
“Forty-four percent of the activity was under $1 million,” Mr. Cervi said. “So there was increased activity at lower price points.”