Realty Check

Come Hell or high water, there’s one thing that seems certain during tough times — and that’s the old real estate axiom about “location, location, location.” We’ve got it. And everyone wants it.

HAMPTONS GOLD RUSH
Even as most of the nation continues to try to get to the other side of the increasingly adverse effects of the pandemic, the East End real estate industry is plowing along and showing healthy results. In fact, the crisis has created higher demand than we’ve seen in recent history, say industry experts. And as we look to what could be another home school season in the fall, demand for homes outside of the city is high and business in the Hamptons is roaring along.
Second Quarter results had not yet come in from the major brokerages at the time of this writing. That said, the signs have continued to point up, according to the Douglas Elliman June Signed Contract Report for the Hamptons.
“New signed contracts and new listings for single-family properties surged at nearly all price points year over year,” the report states. “Consumers who found themselves under New York City ‘shelter-in-place’ rules in the early spring pressed to find summer rentals and make purchases at a much higher rate than last year.”
Prepared by Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers and Consultants, the collected data showed a total of 213 signed contracts in June 2020, compared with a mere 113 in June 2019, an 88.5-percent increase. The demand, again in the month of June 2020, was spread nearly across the board — from properties priced starting at $1 million and up to $19.99 million.
Breaking down the categories, the most significant percentage jump in signed contracts was in the $4 million to $4.99 million range. That price point saw a 300-percent rise; for 12 contracts in June 2020 compared to 3 in June 2019. Next in order of percentage points was the $10 million to $19.99 million category, with 6 signed contracts this year versus 2 in 2019, a 200-percent increase.
The most active segment of the market, however, was the $1 million to $3.99 million range. In June 2020, there were 78 signed contracts in the $1 million to $1.99 million category, a 188.9-percent increase, and 57 signed contracts in the $2 million to $3.99 million range, versus 29 last year, a 96.6-percent rise.
For the Third Quarter, the biggest indicator to watch out for will be the number of available homes on the market. According to the Douglas Elliman report, there were 177 new entries in June 2020, compared to only 57 in the previous year, but as early as May agents have been grumbling that there haven’t been enough units in the pipeline to keep up with demand.

WIDE OPEN
Even those who don’t keep up with the real estate market can’t have missed the flashing signs of our economic uptick. It seems that every high-end shop, restaurant and gallery have continued to make tracks to the Hamptons.
New faces on the front include maternity brand retailer Hatch, which has teamed up with The Westside in Southampton, to offer curbside pick-up for customers; American Eagle Outfitters, which has opened up private-label offshoot, Unsubscribed, in East Hampton; Paul Stuart, which opened up in Southampton, with a lease that extends through the end of the year; and Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue, both of which are making scheduled same-day deliveries out east.
As for the eateries, new spots include Kissaki, offering Japanese cuisine in Water Mill and Miss Shanty, serving up Caribbean-style food, in Hampton Bays, while Hill Country Barbe-cue Market owner Marc Glosserman has turned his East Hampton home into a pickup location.
Rounding out this month’s menu, celebrity chef David Burke has created a slew of prepared meal offerings for Honest Plate in East Hampton; East Village bar Death & Co. has formed a partnership with the Sound View in Greenport, and Eileen’s Special Cheesecake and Breads Bakery are delivering out here now as well.
Due to popular demand, Blade is now getting into the delivery business. The helicopter service has announced that it is offering daily delivery trips for essentials and otherwise to and from the city.
Also, Gristedes supermarkets billionaire owner John Catsimatidis has made another radio power play. The proud new owner of WABC/770 AM has just bought Hampton Bays-based WLIR/107.1 FM in order to stretch his simulcast reach.

NOT-SO-STARVING ARTISTS
Yet another big name gallery has made its way to the South Fork. South Etna Montauk, a venture by Amalia Dayan of Luxembourg & Dayan and her husband, Adam Lindemann, of Venus Over Manhattan, opened last month. The high-end art shop, which boasts a gallery sign created by Montauk and New York-based artist Julian Schnabel, is expected to be open through December 2020, and possibly beyond.
Side note: the multiple property-owning arty couple have reportedly found a renter for Eothen for the summer. The $65 million, 5.7-acre Montauk estate, once owned by Andy Warhol, has been let by Moscow-born art collector and editor Dasha Zhukova and her husband, Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos III. Interesting.

BIG GULP
While many are scrambling to move in, there’s one hot spot that looks to be getting out. The owners of the property that hosts the Water Street Shops in Sag Harbor have put their .67-acre property on the market.
Listed with Enzo Morabito of Douglas Elliman for $13.9 million, the Village Business-zoned, mixed-use waterside property overlooking Sag Harbor Cove is located at 22 Long Island Avenue and 22 West Water Street. Built in 1950, it’s adjacent to the coming waterfront John Steinbeck Park and comprises a 15,000-plus-square-foot commercial building with eight retail units and four office suites and a total of 30 parking spaces.

“NEVER SAY NEVER”
Lastly, singer Justin Bieber and his wife, model Hailey Baldwin Bieber (and Alec Baldwin niece), have signed a $375,000 lease for a three-week stay at a house in Montauk, according to real estate agent Dylan Eckardt of Nest Seekers. The agent is on a rock-star roll, recently renting a waterfront pad to pop superstar Rihanna in North Sea.