East End real estate sales fueled strong revenues for the Peconic Bay Community Preservation Fund in August, according to the Easthampton Star.
Financed by a 2 percent transfer tax on residential real estate deals in the towns of East Hampton, Southampton, Shelter Island, Southold, and Riverhead, the fund’s coffers swelled by $13.45 million in August, marking the 13th-straight month of $10-million-plus revenues.
Still, the returns were markedly lower than the nearly $20 million collected in June and $17.8 million collected in July. August’s revenues bringing the 2021 year-to-date total to nearly $145 million, already ahead of last year’s record $139 million — itself a 79 percent spike over 2019.
Demand surged on the East End last summer and peaked in most areas this spring. It’s since started to recede, in part because of the continued growth in pricing and fewer available listings.
Towns use the fund’s proceeds to buy and preserve property and finance other public projects. Since its establishment by voter referendum in 1998, the fund has preserved over 10,000 acres of open space, farmland and historic sites.
[Easthampton Star] — Dennis Lynch