Curbed Hamptons' expert polling didn't stop at the decade's Best New Houses. In order to get a better read on the last 10 years in real estate, we asked an array of East End agents and brokers to help us determine the '00s' most important deals. We've gathered the responses, debated their rankings, and formulated a list of game changing sales. More suggestions? Feel free to leave those in the comments. But first take a look at the Hamptons' Most Important Deals of the Decade.
10) House: Bell Estate, Amagansett
Price: $4-6 million
Year Sold: 2006
The Skinny: Catapulting Amagansett into the game, the development created out of land owned by Tavern on the Green's Werner Le Roy was a landmark deal for the east East End. Known as the Bell Estate for the 500 acres of land amassed by Dennistoun Bell in the early 1900s, Le Roy's smaller plot was carved into a collection of new $4-6 million 'starter homes' in 2006.
"Werner Le Roy's Bell Estate spurred a huge change in Amagansett during the decade." - Arlene Reckson, Corcoran
9) House: Lasata, East Hampton
Price: $24 million
Year Sold: 2007
The Skinny: A Kennedy connection never hurts. When Coach CEO Reed Krakoff bought the stately Further Lane home of Jackie Onassis's paternal grandparents, he invested in a 8,500 square foot piece of East Hampton's history. The nearly 100 year old home was listed for $25 million just months before it was bought, reminding brokers of the simplicity of peak time deals.
8) House: Stone Meadow Farm, East Hampton
Price: $12.5 million
Year Sold: 2009
The Skinny: North of the Highway's most expensive deal ever, Stone Meadow Farm made a name for itself not only with its one-time $20 million price tag, but with one-time renter Mariah Carey. The 8 acre property and new 18,000 square foot home was sold to Isabel Rose of the Rose Associates real estate family.
7) House: Sagaponack Greens, Sagaponack
Price: $25 million
Year Sold: 2005
The Skinny: The 2005 sale of these 40 Sagaponack acres to lawyer/developer Alan Schnurman set the ball rolling for a the real estate story that is the 'Greens. Schnurman's $25 million purchase was quickly flipped to $49.5 million, and upped to $64 million when the 8 lot subdivision was obtained in 2007. And then...the market turned against everyone. Four lots are now in contract for $4.5-5 million each.
"This was a very important in sale in 2005.....Which in turn became a tough sale of the 2000s" - Neil Bersin, Prudential Douglas Elliman
6) House: Eothen, Montauk
Price: $27 million
Year Sold: 2007
The Skinny: Paul Morrissey's sale of the famed Church Estate in 2007 signaled a changing of the guard, as J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler picked up what was often regarded as the Andy Warhol estate. The notorious freewheeling oceanfront compound represented Montauk's place in the art world of the '70s and '80s, but the high-priced 2007 sale brought things into perspective. Drexler paid considerably less than Morrissey's original $50 million listing price in 2001.
5) House: Villa Maria, Water Mill
Price: $35 million
Year Sold: 2005
The Skinny: Originally a Dominican Sisters convent, Villa Maria's noticeable highway location made its sale to Nine West co-founder Vincent Camuto all the more intriguing. Camuto and his wife purchased the elegant bayfront property with the intention of restoring the 21,000 square foot Beaux Arts mansion and its guest houses to sell again in the future. And that they did. The estate quietly hit the market in 2008 with a 'price open to discussion' ($100 million?) last year.
4) House: Burnt Point, Wainscott
Price: $45 Million
Year Sold: 2005
The Skinny: This Francis Fleetwood-designed estate was the talk of the early '00s, when owner David Campbell but his new home on the market for $50 million. One of Forbes' Most Expensive Homes in America, the Georgica Pond property was sold to Stewart Rahr after a few years on the market and a healthy $5 million discount. Always a trailblazer, the land was purchased by Campbell for a price record setting $10 million in 1996.
3) House: Elysium, Southampton
Price: $29 million
Year Sold: 2003
The Skinny: Known more lovingly as Dragon's Head, Calvin Klein picked up this 1929 castle many years back for its ten Meadow Lane acres on the ocean and bay. The subject of an early destructoporn on this site, the dragon fell last May to make way for a more subtle addition to the local landscape.
"The biggest sale of 2003." - Linda Haugevik, Saunders & Associates
2) House: 104 Gin Lane, Southampton
Price: $60 million
Year Sold: 2008
The Skinny: "Tiger Woods is moving to Southampton!" No better rumor circulated the Hamptons in 2008, and of course it wasn't true. Once owned by producer Marty Richards, the oceanfront home went to a mysterious hedge fund manager and was the biggest sale of the year by far, as the market had already started to take a deep dive.
"A record sale." - Christopher Burnside, Brown Harris Stevens
1) House: Baron Estate, East Hampton
Price: $103 million
Year Sold: 2007
The Skinny: Ron Baron's purchase of the Further Lane de Menil Estate has garnered almost nothing but controversy in the past two years. (Dunegate, anyone?) The 40 acre oceanfront property seemed to signal that things couldn't get much more insane in the East End market, and in fact they didn't. RIP, 2007.
"Most important, toughest and game changing sale in the Hamptons...ever?" - Linda Haugevik, Saunders & Associates
"...most audacious purchase of the century, defining the height of the market. [My] sale to Baron of the Marden estate next door in 2002 for $25 million was the precursor to Baron's subsequent purchase." - John Golden, Prudential Douglas Elliman