A new study completed by members of the Hampton Bays Village Exploratory Committee, the group leading the hamlet’s latest attempt to incorporate, concludes that property values would increase if the village is eventually created.
Led by Bruce King, vice president of the Village Exploratory Committee, the study examined the property values in a dozen different villages in Suffolk County, and then compared those figures with the changing values of homes sitting just outside those municipalities. The examination also pulled information provided by real estate agents familiar with those areas, according to Mr. King.
“In every one of the villages I called, they said the value of the house inside the incorporated village was higher than the house across the street,” he said.
For example, a “middle class” house in Sag Harbor Village—which is described in the new study as an average-size home that is in need of some minor repairs—is currently valued at around $1.5 million. That same house, according to the study, would be worth $750,000 if it sat just outside the incorporated village.
Similar results were found, Mr. King said, when he looked at other local villages. In Southampton Village, a similar house—a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a garage—now costs between $1 million and $1.25 million, the study says, as long as it sits within the municipality’s borders. A similar-size home, located in the hamlet of North Sea, is currently valued at $575,000, according to the same study.
“I was looking to see if the size of a home will increase in value if it’s inside a village,” Mr. King said. “Does it make a difference over a period of time? We found that it is better to live inside the village.”
The self-commissioned study, however, did not take into account the lot size of houses that were examined, nor did it conclude how those property values influenced the corresponding property taxes.
Previously, Village Exploratory Committee President Bruce Doscher had estimated that if Hampton Bays does incorporate, a homeowner whose property is currently assessed at $450,000 would most likely have to absorb an estimated $240 increase in annual village taxes to help fund the various departments of the new municipality.
The results of the study were presented to the public for the first time at an informational meeting held last Wednesday, October 14, at the Hampton Bays Middle School. The gathering, sponsored by the exploratory committee, attracted approximately 100 people, according to Mr. Doscher.
“It went very well,” Mr. Doscher said of the meeting that was held so Hampton Bays residents could ask questions about the latest incorporation effort. “People who took the mic to speak, they were speaking in favor for it. It was, like, wow!”
Both Mr. Doscher and Mr. King said their study, which Mr. King described as “casual,” in that it took less than a day to cowplete, suggests that property values will increase in Hampton Bays if residents eventually vote to incorporate as a village. They noted that a similar trend has been recorded across Suffolk County, explaining that they also took a look at property values in the villages of Babylon, Greenport, Bellport, Patchogue, Quogue, Sayville, Westhampton Beach, East Hampton, North Hampton and Sagaponack.
Mr. King said he wasn’t surprised that villages have higher property values than the hamlets that surround them, pointing to the increased services that are made available to residents.
“It’s desired by people,” Mr. King said, referring to homes that sit within incorporated villages. “People want to buy them for a higher price. Sometimes you’ll want a house, and you can afford the house, and there will be two other people who want the house, and the price goes up. It happens within villages all the time.
“It’s a more controlled community, and the community has a distinct personality,” he later added.
Enzo Morabito, a licensed real estate broker at Douglas Elliman, which has teams in Westhampton Beach, Bridgehampton and East Hampton, agrees with the study’s results, noting that villages typically have higher property values. “Normally it goes up,” Mr. Morabito said. “We saw that in Sagaponack. You see it in North Haven. You see it just about everywhere.
“You also see an increase in costs,” he continued. “If you can’t afford it, you shouldn’t do it. Taxes are very high in Hampton Bays. I think it would be a great idea to be a village if the cost justifies it.”
The effort to incorporate Hampton Bays has been prodded and explored by various groups multiple times over the decades, all of which proved unsuccessful. But those behind the latest effort, who sponsored last week’s meeting, say they are determined to push forward with the initiative and, eventually, petition town officials to schedule a public referendum on the measure.
The committee became recognized as a New York State nonprofit in 2014 and over the summer created an estimated $2.94 million proposed budget for the proposed 14-square-mile village that would mirror the boundaries of the Hampton Bays School District.
The next step in the process is for committee members to mail out a census, as required by the state, to see how many people would fall within the boundaries of the village. The census will be sent to approximately 6,500 addresses, according to Mr. Doscher.
Amanda Bernocco on Oct 20, 2015