Before summer 2k11 washes over us, let's take a second to revisit some of the biggest real estate stories from the past couple of months. You'd be shocked to learn just how much the market moves while the rest of us are off shoveling snow! Care to join us as we flip through some of the off-season's best listings, contracts, and controversies?
THE LISTINGS
$3M Kitchens—If only a fortunate few are lucky enough to own million-dollar homes, then it takes a real son of a gun to own a $3 million kitchen! The fancy kitchen belongs to a $58.5 million mansion that real estate exec Andrew Borrok built. The mansion also boasts 20,000 square feet of living space and a 10,000-bottle wine room.
Untouched Cottage—Back in February, an eight-acre compound in Westhampton Beach decided to hit the market for a whopping $13.8 million. But the real curve ball? The historic cottage hadn't dipped its toes in the marketplace for 100 years! Certainly isn't every day you find a home that's been with the same family for an entire century!
Cult Classic—Two words: Grey Gardens. Need we say more? Probably not, but we will anyway! The legendary East Hampton home once belonging to the eccentric Edith Beale popped up on the rental market this year for $135,000 for two weeks in August. Not the cheapest option, but all of that history (and cat pee!) is hard to replace these days.
Ultimate House Move—For a long time, the one thing the East End lacked was a healthy serving of Frank Lloyd Wright. Tons of imitations, but nothing original! Fortunately, a couple of architects are looking to change that by offering to move an authentic FLW home from New Jersey to the Houses at Sagaponac development. Price: $5 million. Bragging rights: Endless.
The Troublemaker—Surprisingly enough, one of the most controversial homes (and subsequent listings) this year only has four sides. Yup, it's Sagaponack's infamous foursquare-style farmhouse. After picking up a lot of notoriety (and even a couple of lawsuits), the house-on-the-move settled on a plot of land in tony Sagaponack. The Peconic Land Trust priced it at $2.5 million in hopes of turning a profit and protecting more land elsewhere.
THE CONTRACTS
Land Ho!—One of the off-season's biggest land deals happened right here in East Hampton. The 3.3-acre oceanfront parcel belonged to ad exec Donny Deutsch up until November, when he traded it for $30 million. Despite the massive price tag, don't start calling Deutsch greedy: he also gave away a couple historic homes on the property to the Town of East Hampton.
Not Madge—Madonna's real estate doings are of top priority, so whenever her name's attached to a deal, people take notice. Unfortunately, rumors that Madonna purchased talent agent Sandy Gallin's $20 million Bridgehampton home were untrue. But hey, at least Gallin's whimsical estate, which was once priced at $32 million, actually sold! The eventual selling price? $17.5 million.
Deep Pockets—Deep Hollow Ranch, the Montauk cattle ranch touted as one of the oldest in America, traded to J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler for a staggering $11.4 million last December. The 22-acre compound consists of a fully-functioning ranch, and has even played host to a string of infamous concerts. Given its history, Drexler plans to keep the ranch "basically the same."
Grammer Lesson—After a messy divorce from Camille, Kelsey Grammer decided to unload his Bridgehampton South estate, and fast! In a shotgun sale, the Joe Farrell-built home sold for the heavily-discounted price of $9.95 million. (The 8,000-square-foot home spent some time on the market a while back for almost $14 million.) So does this mean Grammer will leave the Hamptons forever? Not necessarily: he tells the Post that the decision is "entirely up to" his new wife.
THE CONTROVERSIES
Cliff Hanger—After a winter of destructive blizzards, one Montauk home on Captain Kidds Path just couldn't take it anymore! Yes, the house basically decided to jump into the water! In fact, some officials reported that, for a time, as much as 40% of the home was "hanging up in the air." The erosion commotion not only inspired awe, but also a string of lawsuits regarding erosion in Montauk. Gotta save those sandy beaches!
I Love Sag—In what might be better regarded as a stunning victory than a controversy, the historic whaling village of Sag Harbor dominated Curbed Hamptons' first annual Curbed Cup! So what helped good old Sag pull through? We'd have to say a robust real estate market, a successful designer show house, and a string of new restaurants and shopping. Only time will tell if runner-up Montauk will win next year!
Buh-Bye—Last summer, power broker Jay Flagg found himself stuck in a bout of controversy with the higher-ups at Prudential. Thereafter, Flagg packed and went running to newcomer Saunders & Associates. And it turns out that Flagg didn't pack lightly! In addition to some other exclusive listings, Flagg also brought Christie Brinkley's $15.750 million North Haven estate with him. The property hasn't actually sold yet, but that doesn't make the circa 1843 Greek Revival mansion any less fun to gawk at.
Salt and Tepper—After shelling out $43.5 million for an expansive oceanfront home in Sagaponack, billionaire David Tepper naturally decided to tear the whole place down! Tepper commissioned Cooper Robertson Architects to design a larger colonial home to stand in the old home's place. So why'd Tepper do it? Apparently the original home's ocean views weren't what you'd expect from the most expensive East End transaction of 2010.