Lily Pond Lane in East Hampton is so beautiful, with lovely gracious homes and the ocean right there. Who wouldn't want to rent there if they could? Even better with a low price. So what's the catch? The catch is that it was 85 years ago. The estate of the late Col. James W. Zevely, which was on Lily Pond Lane, was available for the three-month season for $12,000 in 1928. (Notice from the New York Times.) According to various online calculators, $12,000 in 1928 is equal to about $161,000 now. Hey—that's still about half the price of a rental on Lily Pond today.
Let's take a look at some more rental prices from the mists of time.
If you couldn't run to $12,000 for the season, how about $25 a week at Windmill Cottage in Amagansett? This is also from 1928, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
Still kinda steep? Get in your time machine and travel to June 1899, when Amagansett boardinghouse prices were about half what they were in 1928.
You hate corsets? Set the controls to April 22, 1951, then, when the New York Times noted that East Hampton rentals were looking forward to a good season. You're out of luck if you want a dune house, though, apparently.
You can't rent early enough, according to this September 8, 1955 ad from the East Hampton Star. Maybe you should just pony up $20,000 and buy.
Didn't buy back in 1955 and now it's 1967 and you need to rent? All right. You can get a charming three-bedroom house in a finer location for June and July for $1750.
Wait, it's 1976 all of a sudden and you're a swinging single looking to have fun with other groovy singles in East Hampton? How about a share in a "grouper"? Just don't let the village know! Those squares recently put a limit on groupers.
And the beat goes on.
· All Renters Week 2013 posts [Curbed Hamptons]