Southampton - The third quarter numbers are better than expected according to real estate agents around the Hamptons who have been pleasantly surprised by the strong showing reflected by quarterly reports as October draws to a close. Some are predicting a continued upswing encouraged by the third quarter showing which may indicate the market hit bottom in the winter of 2009 and is now on the rise.

Others are not quite sure as they continue to wait for the market to hit the elusive bottom.

Many agents expect the market to be flat as they enter the last quarter of 2009 but are predicting a strong first quarter in 2010. Many note the return of Wall Street money as a big plus that is translating directly into sales. Listing prices are rising too in the wake of several intense bidding wars this summer. Despite the strong showing in the third quarter inventory is still high and increasing daily as sellers, encouraged by the upswing, are putting their houses on the market.

"The end of the year has never been our selling season out here," Lori Barbaria, a broker in Prudential Douglas Elliman's East Hampton office said. Barbaria reported a busy summer. "Sellers were realistic and buyers felt prices were where they should be," she said. Listing prices have literally dropped by the millions over the last two years.

"I did $40 million in sales," Paul Brennan, a broker and regional manager at Prudential said of his third quarter sales. Brennan attributed the strong sales activity to pent-up demand. "Don't forget there's a lot of money out here. People were not buying because they didn't have money, and they were waiting for prices to come down. They saw that the world didn't fall apart and they made a move."

Agents reported a resurgence of bidding wars and offers that went over the asking price. Top agents who routinely handle multi-million dollar properties did well across the boards. The Corcoran Group's superstar Susan Breitenbach reported $49 million in sales. "I was really surprised," she said, "considering how quiet it was during the winter."

George Simpson, President of Suffolk Research, the oldest and largest supplier of real estate data on the East End, follows the numbers closely. According to Simpson the market hit bottom in the winter of 2009 then increased steadily in the second and third quarters. "The third quarter numbers are almost double the second quarter," Simpson said. According to Simpson the real estate market on the East End showed strong signs of a turnaround in the second quarter when he predicted, statistically speaking, that the third quarter could be expected to surpass the second quarter.

The first quarter of 2009 was the worst first quarter in six years according to Simpson. "The numbers are very encouraging. The market has started to come back steadily," Simpson said, noting all three market indicators, median price, number of sales and the dollar volume of these sales are up.

According to Simpson, the number of sales of single family homes has nearly doubled from the first to the third quarter of this year. In the first quarter of 2009 Suffolk Profiles reported a total of 256 sales in the five East End towns. This number increased to 477 units by the end of the third quarter. Median price on the East End has increased 6.1 percent during the same period, rising from $579,800 to $612,000. The median price is the price that falls in the middle of the list of sales when transactions are listed in order of their closing prices. This year's third quarter median price is actually one percent lower than it was in the third quarter of 2008.

The number varies in the five East End towns. In Southampton the median price for the third quarter was $795,000. This number reflects an increase of 9.7 percent compared to last year. InEast Hampton the median price of $850,000 reflected an 11.9 percent decrease year over year.

Dollar Sales during the third quarter topped out at $572 million. The total reflects a 7.2 percent increase compared to 2008.

A third quarter report released by Prudential Douglas Elliman reports the number of sales in theHamptons and on the North Fork increased 29.3 percent going from 355 sales in the third quarter of 2008 to 459 sales in 2009. The report, prepared by Samuel Miller Appraisal and Consulting Services noted an increase in the number of days on the market required to sell a house. This year it took 198 days to find a buyer. Last year the number of days on the market (DOM) was 173.

According to Prudential's Report, the median price for houses north of Montauk Highway is now $600,000 a number that reflects a decline of 13.4 percent compared to last year. The median price for homes south of the highway increased an astonishing 67.3 percent and is now $1,840,000. The median sales price for houses east of the Shinnecock Canal dropped 0.5 percent to $982,500. Home prices west of the Canal increased 5.3 percent to a median of $550,000 over last year's third quarter prices.

The median sales price in the luxury market representing the top 10 percent of all sales dropped 10.9 percent to $4,275,000 in the third quarter of this year. However sales in the luxury market were strong this summer. Four building lots on Hedges Lane listed at $5.25 million to $5.75 million for 1.4 to 2.3 acre parcels with southwestern views toward the ocean went into contract after more than two years on the market. Bidding wars on oceanfront properties in Montauk resulted in contract prices well over the listing price. Among those was the sale of Bernard Madoff's oceanfront house. The sale of the Montauk beach house was handled by federal marshals who listed the property with Ray Hegner of the Corcoran Group. The house listed at $8.75 million sold for $9.4 million in less than two weeks.

The fast and furious action surrounding the infamous property with a spectacular location made agents yearn for the good old days of five years ago when buyers outnumbered sellers and listings sold quickly all day long.

Some estimates place the number of homes for sale in the Hamptons at 4,900 or roughly three or more years of inventory in a market where buyers are still few and far between.

Despite the strong showing in the third quarter agents along with the buyers and sellers who make up the marketplace remain uncertain as they try to decide if the market is going up or down. No one really knows in a business where no one has a crystal ball, however, Dottie Herman, president and CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman has an interesting take "The market is 'going sideways.'" she said.