The September issue of Hamptons Cottages & Gardens has hit the streets, and this month's Deeds & Don'ts feature includes a few items of note. A functioning Page Six of the Hamptons real estate set, the column never fails to peak our interest. Any juicy tidbits of your own? Feel free to send them our way...
· Reality Bites: Prices have reached realistic levels, so realistic that serious buyers are out there and putting down offers. 'For now, the usual scenario is that buyers present an opening offer at least 30 percent off the asking price. The seller will huff and puff and most likely not even respond.'
· East Hampton Selling Some: East Hampton's most prominent properties are being spared. 'A long-awaited Hook Pond property that came on the market as an estate sale was snatched up immediately for over $20 million. Several other key East Hampton residences have garnered eager buyer activity in the $10 million category.' Though, location is key, as the Northwest Woods and lanes off of the village are having a tougher time of it. Inflated prices are to blame.
· Sagaponack is Mixed: Homes in Bridgehampton and Sagaponack that have sat on the market for months (sometimes years) aren't moving anywhere soon, but oceanfront properties have garnered a bit of interest. 'The key oceanfront offerings in Sagaponack have had some attention. Gibson Lane has one at $24 million, though so far no meaningful bids. It's a dated contemporary house standing on a stunning dunefront with pool and tennis court to boot. ...Off Daniel's Lane is a midcentury-style house that seems generously priced at a reported $38 million. Agreed, the house has a Phillip Johnson pedigree but to me it's akin to an old poodle mired in a muddy puddle but trying still to look fetching.'
· History May Repeat Itself: Though predictions about the next few years in the market are varied, history is on our side. 'In the late 1980s the market tumbled. It reached its lowest point by 1990-91 and then enjoyed a steady rise higher, with a few stalled moments here and there until the pinnacle of 2006 and 2007.'
· Renters' Paradise: August was a renter's dream, and the market was helped by the influx of short-term vacationers. 'There were more August renters this year than full-season folks; popular too were two-week renters, a market that never existed here before now but is commonplace in other vacation markets.'
· Bang for your Buck: For those who have funds to spare, this market has made oceanfront homeowners of buyers once in the bayfront category. 'This last 12 months have bumped many a buyer up a notch, some from creek to bay and others from bay to ocean. The flip side to deflating values seems to be the opportunity for some to trade up. ...Today, one can purchase an estate on the ocean in Southampton for the $20 million in something that may have easily brought upward of $30 million in the recent past.'
· Deeds & Dont's [HC&G]