At least that's what brokers interviewed by the East Hampton Star say—and the statistics bear them out. Nancy Keeshan, whose dad, John Keeshan, founded the eponymous Montauk brokerage, says, "Everything that was sitting on the market for more than a year started to go in the new year. There's a younger pulse in the air . . . a lot of cash buyers. . . . They're feeling a security in the market from over a year ago when they didn't have the confidence."
For instance, remember that tiny, rustic oceanfront cottage on Old Montauk Highway that was asking $8.5M and went into contract quickly? We've been checking property sites now and then to see what it closed for, but according to the Star, it sold for full asking price. Wow. We are very pleased that the cute cottage will probably not be bulldozed.
In May, the cottage's broker, Theresa Eurell of Town & Country, sold a property for full asking price, $3.25M, to a buyer who purchased without setting foot inside. Formerly the Ditch Plain Life-Saving Station, the building was moved inland onto a five-acre parcel by Hilde Smith. (As a matter of fact, Hilde Smith was an old family friend of ours. She and her husband Knowles, who ran inns and restaurants in Montauk starting a hundred years ago or so, saved and moved many old Montauk buildings, including the old telegraph building which is now the Surfside Inn.)
Why is Montauk so hot? Chris Chapin, a Douglas Elliman broker from Sag Harbor, says that "all resort towns on the East Coast from Hampton Bays to Florida are built on barrier islands. Montauk is the only headlands . . . where you can drive along and see ocean. " We agree. We love that the ocean is all around you in Montauk. It's a beautiful, special place.
· Montauk Madness [EHStar]
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