Westhampton Beach - An Active Fall 2008

Even though Labor Day has come and gone, activity has been brisk in the greater Westhampton area this Fall of 2008. The local Greater Westhampton Chamber of Commerce has been sponsoring many post-Labor Day events bringing Westhampton Beach and its' surrounding communities to the forefront of people's minds. The local Farmers Market continued well into the Fall on Saturday mornings with local farmers, craftsman and artisans featuring their local self grown or made wares. The streets were bustling and the real estate community busy.

September brought several Main Street merchant sidewalk sales to the downtown business district giving the local retailers an opportunity to move some of their outstanding summer inventory and making room for wintery products. The local Bide-a-wee "Love On a Leash" festival on the Westhampton Beach Village Green followed by the now annual "Doggy Parade" down the main thoroughfare was a fun site to see this year once again. There was fur on a leash in every hand walking down Main Street and a choice few precious pets that were being carefully carried or pulled in their decorated little red "Radio Flyer" wagons. The summer season now seems to extend well beyond Labor Day jam packed with activities. The water remained warm this year late into the season and the weather held out nicely bringing many out to get a jump start on the search for the ideal summer rental for the 2009 Summer vacation season. Production overall in September was quite impressive. One office in particular, Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate, posted a banner month in production - achieving top 5 office status out of all of their offices from Manhattan to Montauk with $24 Million in contracts fully executed. Very impressive indeed. And who said the market was down?

October followed with a endless activities on Columbus Day weekend. The Westhampton Beach Historical Society orchestrated the annual Fall Harvest Festival on their grounds on Mill Road in conjunction with the on-going Farmer's Market. The Greater Westhampton Chamber of Commerce presented their annual Fall Arts and Crafts Show on the Westhampton Beach Village Green at the intersection of Mill Road and Main Street. Weather cooperated for everyone as hundreds of people strolled the streets between all of the events including the merchants Columbus Day bonanza. The local kids all costumed up were once again parading down from the schools to Main Street where the local Greater Westhampton Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Westhampton Elementary Partent Teacher Association and local Main Street business owners who hosted the 5th annual community Trick or Treat on Main Street event - a safe and fun Halloween alternative. The chamber and PTA provided over a done of decadent sweets for the community children, passed out by the local business owners, merchants and retailers along the strip. The generousity of local sponsors and the merchants contributing what seemed to be endless sugary booty made this friday afternoon Halloween event a raging success with what seemed to be the largest attendance ever - an estimated 3,500 costumed kids, parents and community members enjoying the day. Overall "Life was Good" here in Westhampton Beach despite uneasy times in the financial sector of Wall Street just an hour and a half to the west. Warm bodies were out and about continuing their summer rental searches while others carefully looked and educated themselves with dreams of positioning themselves for staking claims on new acquisitions.

November traditionally gets sleepier out in Westhampton Beach. The Farmers Market closes the third weekend as do a small portion of the local shops and well-known eateries. But the majority of merchants and retailers hang in for the long haul over the winter. Those that came out to Westhampton Beach to play were greated with broad smiles on Main Street as always open and ready to serve. Available Real Estate inventory grew a bit this month, with many die-hard lookers surfacing after finding some new and interesting properties on the world wide web and several good deals were put together by the local brokerage community. The financial roller coaster continued, but with a nice dip in rates at the end of the month with brought smiles to those who were smart enough to get in the game at this time. After a quick review, there are a lot of unique and interesting properties out there that are available right now than can be acquired such as a rare 4-unit apartment building in the village heart, a traditional 1920s craftsman home with legal carriage house boasting dual income producing apartments and a fresh crop of homes available for summer rental for next season that have never been available previously. The overall sense of real estate was somewhat invigorating here in Westhampton Beach which is traditionally insulated from the woes of the rest of the greater community. Being a huge second-home property community, it was rather enjoyable seeing an overwhelming amount of part-time and weekend residents come out and actually enjoy their homes with their families during the Thanksgiving holidays.

December gave way to leafless streets and the hunkering down for the commencement of the Winter season here in Westhampton Beach. In a final effort to bring some activity to the village street, the Greater Westhampton Chamber of Commerce hosted their annual Christmastime on Main Street festivities which always brings a fair amount of people out of the woodwork. This year, the cooperative efforts of the Village of Westhampton Beach, the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, the local chamber and an excellent number of participating merchants yielded an outstanding event filled with activities for both young and old alike - nearly 20 kids holiday craft stations, another 15 refreshment stations, horse and buggy rides in the downtown area, a community holiday movie at PAC - local radio stations broadcasting live on the streets, strolling carolers, a couple of Santas here and there and brightly wrapped gifts scattered along the sidewalks directing all to these different venues. Main Street was decorated for the holiday season with garlands, wreaths and white twinkling icicle lights everywhere in town in preparation for a glorious holiday season, the New Year and a thriving projected "next economy" in 2009 here in beautiful Westhampton Beach for both local merchants and the real estate brokerage community.

Hoping that 2009 will be good to us all!

Peace from Westhampton Beach!