Realty Check

The pandemic has turned the New York City real estate market upside down. Meanwhile, demand for East End housing still shows no slowing in sight. 

As the year comes to a close, buyers and brokers are scrambling to find enough available properties and sellers have benefitted with increased bottom lines. Looking forward, we are wondering what the rental market will look like come 2021. 

As the city continues to take a beating, the Hamptons are still hotter than ever, according to the Property Shark ranking of America’s Most Expensive ZIP Codes. Based on the median price of closed transactions from January 1 to October 16, six South Fork ZIP Codes made the top 100. 

Two East End ZIPs made the top 10. Perennial list topper Sagaponack (11962), came in at number two nationally for the second year in a row with a median sales price of $3.875 million, just under the number one spot in Atherton, California (94027) which boasted a significant $7 million median sale price. Bridgehampton (11932) came in at number seven with a median sales price of $3.325 million. Notably, that hamlet claimed the third-highest price gain, a 30-percent increase from 2019. 

The other four villages and hamlets included on the list were: Wainscott (11975), at number 17, with a median sales price of $2.8 million; Water Mill (11976), at number 29, with a median sales price of $2.475 million; Amagansett (11930), at number 32, with a median sales price of $2.350 million; and Quogue (11959), at number 39, with a median sales price of $2.1 million.  

Pointing to the rise in demand for luxury markets, the study showed that 78 of the nation’s most expensive ZIP Codes had ever-rising median costs. New York City ZIPs, which traditionally dominate the list, historically did not break the top 10 this year. 

Hercules, Hercules, Hercules

Kevin Sorbo and his wife, Sam, have shed one of their Bridgehampton properties. The “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” “Xena: Warrior Princess” and “Andromeda” actor and his talk radio host wife sold their 1223 Ocean Road estate for $8.1 million back in August. The 1-acre property features an 8,000-square-foot traditional shingle-style home with seven bedrooms, seven-and-a-half baths, movie theater, gym and multiple fireplaces, plus pool and spa. Originally listed for $12.5 million back in 2017, the property was represented by Gary DePersia and Danielle Wilson of The Corcoran Group. Priscilla Holloway of Douglas Elliman Real Estate brought the buyer. 

O Captain! My Captain!

Art gallery owner Richard Demato and his artist wife, Harriet Sawyer, have sold their Sag Harbor home for $9.5 million. The Captain’s Row period classic Nathan P. Howell House is notable for its architecture and for being one of the largest homes in the village. 

Painstakingly renovated with many of the original details intact, including arched doorways and brick walls, the 10,000-square-foot Greek Revival home at 238 Main Street was built in 1833 and commands 1.1 acres.  The seven bedroom, eight-and-a-half-bath home also features a wine cellar, epicurean kitchen, nine fireplaces, an elevator, cupola, freestanding climate-controlled artist’s studio with full bath and kitchenette, landscaped grounds and free-form pool. Susan Breitenbach and Cutter Koster of The Corcoran Group represented the listing. David Cox of Compass brought the buyer. 

Turn, Turn, Turn

Listed for sale after being on the rental market for years and years, the historic Windmill House at 64 Deep Lane in Amagansett is now available for $11.5 million. Most notably the 1957 summer home of Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller, the three-story, 1,300-square foot circa-1830 house features a former working windmill, two bedrooms, one bath and occupies 5.45 acres. 

Monroe and Miller, who were married at the time, took the lease to escape the New York City tabloid press. Monroe reportedly prepared for her upcoming role in “Some Like It Hot” while staying at the quaint and cozy cottage, which is being represented by Bobby Rosenbaum of Douglas Elliman. 

The rustic Quail Hill Farm-adjacent home was previously owned by Fabergé cosmetics founder Samuel Rubin and later by Upjohn pharmaceutical heiress Deborah Ann Light, who donated a 20-acre chunk of the property to the Peconic Land Trust back in the 1990s. Over the years the property has been a temporary rental home to writer Kurt Vonnegut, actor Terence Stamp, designer Ralph Lauren and “Stargazer” sculptress Linda Scott. 

Artists & Writers 

East Hampton’s Squirrel Hall is on the market for the first time in 60 years. The former home and art studio of abstract expressionist painter Conrad Marca-Relli — a contemporary of Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock, and the person who identified Pollock’s body after his fatal car crash in 1956 — is another property rife with cultural history. 

Currently owed by former Metropolitan Museum of Art and Guggenheim Museum curator C.Y. de Moura and fine art painter and designer Giovanni de Moura, the home has been graced by such famous faces as the aforementioned Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller, who rented it for a week in the late 1950s, and frequent guests de Kooning and Pollock. 

Located at 852 Springs Fireplace Road in Springs, the property is one lot away from the famed Pollock Krasner House. The 2.39-acre property comprises a rustic 3,000-square-foot, circa-1800s shingle-style main house with many original details, plus a hand-built fireplace by Marca-Relli, and a saltbox barn, gifted from art patron Adelaide deMenil. The property is listed for $1.995 million with Sotheby’s International Realty agents Jenny Landey, Zacheriah Dayton and Ethan Dayton. 

Revival Redux 

It’s only fitting that the Sag Harbor estate of legendary editor Alice Mayhew — who popularized Bob Woodward’s and Carl Bernstein’s “All the President’s Men” and worked with President Jimmy Carter and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, among many other notables — becomes a best seller. The property, located at 27 John Street, came to market in September and went into contract a month later. 

Listed for $2.895 with Gioia DiPaolo of Douglas Elliman, the Greek Revival home offers a classic floor plan with foyer, original staircase and front and rear parlors, library, fireplace, covered porch and screened-in sun room. Additional features at the .33-acre property include views of Sag Harbor Cove and room for a pool. Also represented by DiPaolo and listed for $1.3 million, the adjacent property features a circa-1960s two-bedroom, one-bath cottage. The parcels together total $4.195 million.

Designer’s Dream 

Interior designer Robert Stilin has put his East Hampton home on the market. The $6 million spread, located at 331 Georgica Road in East Hampton, is represented by Dana Trotter of Sotheby’s International Realty and comes with a 5,000-square-foot L-shaped shingle-style home. 

Sited on nearly an acre, the two-story circa-2003 barn-style residence, which is essentially two connected structures, was designed in collaboration with architect Frank Greenwald. Inspired by vintage potato barns, the art-filled structure has five bedrooms and five-and-a-half baths and striking architectural details throughout, including shiplap-style interior paneling, unfinished satin-sanded ceiling beams from the AD100 designer’s family lumber company in Wisconsin, and ebony-finished kitchen cabinetry. Built to enjoy the surrounding nature, the home boasts oversized paned windows from which to enjoy the pastoral view, a pool, and extensive mature plantings and gardens. 

KITCHEN CABINETS 2.0

Based on their vast experience working with interior designers, Hamptons-based Badilla Painters recommends that when kitchens are functional, cabinets need only be refinished, not replaced. “In a lot of beautiful homes, people spend a lot of money on kitchens, but you don’t need to replace the whole thing. It’s a major investment! By refinishing the kitchen and installing new hardware, the kitchen comes back to life,” says owner Joe Badilla. Using only the latest eco-friendly products and technology, Badilla Painters delivers exceptional results.

Ch-Ch-Changes

Compass welcomes Broadway actor and real estate agent Kyle Barisich to its fold. Best known for his roles in the “Phantom of the Opera” and on television’s “The Following,” Barisich, who also starred in the Bay Street Theater production of “Evita,” has joined the CeeJack Team in Sag Harbor. 

Douglas Elliman welcomes agent Sean Gray to its Westhampton Beach office. A member of The Enzo Morabito Team, Gray has a background in social media. Prior to becoming an agent, he worked for a legendary Emmy-winning and Broadway actor and singer and managed social media and branding for a New York City-based health and fitness chain.