BUYING UP

COVID-19 Escapees Driving Staggering House Prices in Hamptons

The median sales price for Hamptons real estate jumped 27.1 percent to $1.08 million during the second quarter of 2020, thanks to people fleeing New York City during the pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic has driven thousands of New Yorkers out of the city and straight to the Hamptons, where their panic-buying of property has driven up real-estate prices to record highs, the New York Post reports. The median sales price for the posh area on Long Island jumped 27.1 percent to $1.08 million in the second quarter of 2020, just as the pandemic hit its apex in New York City. The median price for the same spec house in the same quarter a year ago was $850,000. The average sales price, which is often higher than the median price due to fluctuations in boom times, has risen by 21.1 percent over 2019 to $2.09 million. Rental properties have also been scooped up thanks to people working and studying remotely and no longer needing to live next to offices and schools.