Community Preservation Fund Revenue Hits 5-Year High

Monthly revenues for the East End's Community Preservation Fund reached their highest point in more than five years in January, according to New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele, I-Sag Harbor.

January 2013 revenues were $11.13 million, the most the CPF has raked in since May 2007. The total is a 226 percent increase over January 2012, when the CPF collected $3.41 million.

In January 2013, there were 1,054 real estate transfers, compared to 499 transfers 12 months prior.

In the Town of Riverhead, there was an uptick in CPF revenues. From January to January, the take in increased 20 percent, though it paled in comparison to the 200 percent increase in the Town of Southold or the staggering 1,800 percent increase in the small market of Town of Shelter Island.

After collecting $200,000 in January 2013, this January Riverhead took in $224,000.

CPF revenues are an indicator of the health of the East End real estate market — and how much towns can expect to spend on land preservation in the coming years. The CPF is funded through a 2 percent tax on real estate transactions and the revenues are used for buying up open space, nature preserves, parkland, historic properties and development rights. The CPF was created in 1999 at the state level, specifically for the Peconic Bay Region, to preserve the East End’s beauty and agricultural heritage.

Since the CPF's inception in 1999, it has generated $789.77 million, according to Thiele's office.