An Interesting "Perspective" of The Hamptons

As you may know, I enjoy reading and sharing multiple perspectives of our area. Billie Cohen from The NYT shares her thoughts below. md

Lavish and Luminous; Destination Guide | The Hamptons and the North Fork

By BILLIE COHEN
Published: July 26, 2006
The Hamptons. Just the words conjure images of beautiful people living in beautiful houses on beautiful beaches. The other thing thats pretty? The penny it costs to live there.

Still, despite the generally high cost of housing, the towns and villages on the eastern end of Long Island offer a variety of second-home options for many different kinds of fortunes and many different personalities.

Long Island is the largest island on the East Coast, stretching about 120 miles from New York City. At its eastern end, the island diverges into two arms called the North and South Forks. The North is known for its vineyards and quiet villages while the South is home to the Hamptons, which are divided into two main townships (Southampton and East Hampton) and several independently governed incorporated villages within those towns (including, confusingly, Southampton Village and East Hampton Village).

While some Hamptons towns or villages have more desirability than others (Sagaponack is hot right now and East Hampton Village is a perennial star), home costs are also determined by whether they are north or south of Route 27, the main artery of the South Fork. South of the highway is more coveted because it is closest to the ocean.

In addition to the cost of buying a new home, two taxes bump up the price of most East End properties. First is the New York State mansion tax, which is one percent of the purchase price on all houses over $1 million. Second is the Peconic Land Tax, an approximately two percent fee levied by the Peconic Land Trust in order to buy open spaces for environmental and preservation purposes.

Westhampton

For most New Yorkers, the Hamptons begin at Westhampton and Westhampton Beach. They offer a relatively short commute from New York, about two hours, mainly on big highways or the Long Island Rail Road, plus great beaches and a thriving commercial center. This area also attracts group rentals and day-trippers who dont want to spend their entire weekend battling the traffic on Route 27. For those looking to buy, according to Connie Walsh of Corcoran Realty in Westhampton Beach, you could easily pay $1 million for a two-bedroom shack.

Quogue, the next stop east, has an old-fashioned, small-town feel with a mix of traditional shingled estate homes and humble 1950s ranch houses. Its quiet and family-oriented, and group shares are frowned upon by locals. The town has the tiniest of villages just a liquor store, a coffee shop and an inn. Its become the little East Hampton or Sagaponack of west of the canal, said Ms. Walsh, adding that a new home on the waterfront could garner as much as $15 million. But its nothing compared to out east. What would be $10 million here would be $22 million in Southampton.

Those looking for a bargain a bargain in Hamptons-speak correlates to under $1 million will probably do better in East Quogue. The houses are smaller but many have their own boat slips. Hampton Bays is a bigger town, but has small homes and smaller prices. Three-bedroom homes start just under $1 million.

Southampton

Southampton has long been one of the social centers of Long Island. Founded in the 17th century by English colonists, Southampton was established as a fishing village. Today, some of the architecture reflects its origins. Main Street is wide and tree-lined at the center of a quaint but fashionable village filled with restaurants, art galleries, clothing boutiques and home-furnishing shops, including a branch of Saks Fifth Avenue. Wooden benches dot the sidewalk, providing spots to sip coffee while people watching for famous folk.

A mix of old money, industry and media power brokers, and newer Hollywood personalities, Southamptons high-profile restaurants and nightclubs serve as a playground to this second- home population. Both the billionaire George Soros and Henry Kravis, the financier, have homes in the area. Just as exclusive are the towns private golf courses, which include the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, three-time host to the U.S. Open, the National Golf Links of America and the soon-to-open Sebonack Golf Club, where membership, by invitation only, is in the $600,000 range.

Housing prices, as always, depend on location. Pat Petrillo of Sothebys International Real Estate cited a recent transaction in the Southampton Estate section, where a house on 1.8 acres with a pool and tennis court was sold for $14 million. About five years ago, you would have expected to buy oceanfront for that, she said.

In the nearby village of Water Mill, Richard Gere paid $2.7 million for his home in 2001, and now just the ground its on could be worth as much. You cant touch land in Water Mill for under a million dollars, said Huck Esposito of Blue Bay Realty. And thats raw land. Houses, he added, are in the multimillion-dollar range.

Bridgehampton

Painted with bucolic views, this former whaling and farming village is ripe with farm stands and fresh produce markets. Its also home to one of the South Forks few wineries, Channing Daughters. Just to the west of the main village lies Bridgehampton Commons, which provides retail staples like the Gap, Banana Republic, Kmart and also the King Kullen supermarket.

A lot of people love the openness of Bridgehampton, said Rylan Jacka, a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman who recently moved there from East Hampton. The sky seems to open up there. Its not as woodsy, you just get these amazing summer sunsets with magenta skies and tractors driving on the streets.

Thanks to a surge of modernism in the 1980s, theres a mix of architectural styles. Land south of the highway starts at $4 million an acre, according to Mr. Jacka. A house on that land could cost up to $20 million.

Sagaponack

Formerly known for its agricultural bent and potato fields, the recently incorporated village of Sagaponack has in the last few years started to sprout some of the highest prices in the Hamptons. The price of property has gone to about $2.5 million an acre in Sagaponack, said Rich Gherardi, owner of Sand Dollar Development. The houses are selling for between $7 and $8 million. Recently, Forbes magazine named Sagaponack the most expensive zip code in the country. In 2005, the median home sale price was $2,787,500.

The style of the high-priced houses, Mr. Gherardi added, is traditional with cedar-wood shingled mansions weatherworn to silver gray, offset by white trim and topped with high gables.

Despite the lack of an actual central village, or perhaps because of it, wealthy home buyers are attracted to this exclusive enclave. With just a few streets and large parcels of land, it offers seclusion, privacy and oceanfront views. Inland homes are in the $2 million range. The waterfront is so out of reach for a lot of people, so theyve drifted north into the farmlands like Sagaponack and Wainscott, said Huck Esposito of the Hamptons Realty Group. Theyre all multimillion dollar homes in there. For the most part, theyre houses in the potato fields. They look terrific and people get big dollars for them.

Sag Harbor

To the north, on Gardiners Bay, lies Sag Harbor, a port town with proportionally more year-round residents because of its full roster of restaurants, shopping and services. A whaling village historically, Sag Harbor still has that feel, and the smaller properties and century-old houses in the village, which start at about $1.5 million, reflect that New England maritime heritage.

East Hampton Village

Second home to many families and with few house shares, this is to many people the heart of the Hamptons, the town that has some of the islands oldest and most beautiful houses.

The village is roughly divided into three parts: the estate area, south of the highway and north of the highway. In the East Hampton lanes, youre looking at $5 million just to get a teardown, said Rylan Jacka of Prudential Douglas Elliman. The range goes from a million and a half to three million north of the highway, and starting at three million south of the highway. At Hamptons Realty Group, Georgia Ellis told of an older estate home on the ocean that recently went for $11 million, but even at that price, it needed to be gutted and redone.

Locals and tourists alike angle to get into Nick & Tonis, an 18 year-old restaurant that regularly feeds celebrities. Leif Hope just opened his eponymous restaurant at the site of the old Laundry. Locals will recognize him as the organizer of the annual Artists & Writers Softball Game, a charity event that in the past has brought out the likes of Alec Baldwin, the actor, and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Even those who would never live in the Hamptons can easily spend a day shopping in the town, which has several high-end shops, such as Tiffany & Co., Cynthia Rowley and Gucci. One of the only remaining mom-and-pop operations is Blue Train Tobacco, owned by Dennis and Donna Doherty. I have clientele from the billionaire to the blue-collar guy, said Mr. Dennis. The cigar brings them all together.

Springs

Farmland stretches across the landscape, and houses that are two and three hundred years old lend a historic feel. Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner used to live here. Their house and studio are now a museum.

Artists are still drawn to this area for its beauty, and because of its slightly out-of-the-way location and bay-only waterfront, Springs is more affordable than the rest of East Hampton. Inland, Htun Han of Garnham & Han Real Estate in Amagansett estimated $650,000 for a three-bedroom house on a half-acre lot. On the bay, though, the price tag shoots up to $3 to $5 million.

Amagansett

A destination for young families, Amagansett has a relaxed village feel, exemplified by the farmers market, where so many residents go in the morning for coffee and a muffin, and later in the day for ingredients for grilling a perfect dinner. Its one of the few places in the Hamptons where you can walk to the village center and the ocean, said Mr. Jacka. In most places, you have to compromise one or the other.

The convenience costs. South of the Highway, Mr. Jacka approximates that homes start at $2 million and go up to $15 million; on the north side, the cheapest is $900,000. Homes in the Lanes area are among the most sought after. Ms. Ellis of Hampton Realty Group, said some smaller two-bedroom homes from the 1960s still exist, but that people are paying more than a million to knock them down and rebuild.

In 2000, Jerry Seinfeld bought Billy Joels house for $32 million. Its worth twice that today, said Ms. Esposito, so I guess its all relative.

Montauk

Montauk is for those who seek a family-friendly atmosphere without the pretentiousness of the rest of the Hamptons.. Its laid-back, said Nick & Tonis owner Mark Smith, who has lived in Montauk year-round for the past 15 years. It doesnt even have a traffic light.

It offers unparalleled water views, with the ocean and Gardiners Bay meeting right at the tip. The Montauk Lighthouse, the oldest in New York State and fourth oldest in the country, stands guard here.

Whale watching and sports fishing are popular. Anglers have set 30 world records in Montauk in nearly as many years for catching large tuna, bass, marlin and sharks. Fishermen arent the only ones on the waves. Surfers congregate at Montauks Ditch Plains every morning. It runs the gamut from kids to guys who are in their 60s and 70s and have been surfing for 40 years, said Tom Naro, head of the Surfrider Foundation Long Island chapter. Its a hearty year-round group with a lot of neoprene.

The architecture is more varied than East Hampton, mixing traditional styles with some contemporary and postmodern houses. Its the last untouched part of the Hamptons, where things are still available at fairly reasonable prices, said Tony Ciero of Brown Harris Stevens real estate. I mean, theyre not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but a lot better than buying in East Hampton or Amagansett.

Depending on the view, he estimated that a condo at Montauk Manor could go for $289,000 to $350,000, while a five-bedroom inland home on an acre of property could fetch over a million. On the market, at the high end, is a 5,000-square-foot postmodern oceanfront home for $35 million. The Andy Warhol estate, 5.7 acres with five homes on the water is listed at $40 million.

Shelter Island

Shelter Island is a secluded retreat situated between the North and South Fork. Reachable by ferry from either fork, the islands rolling hills and miles of beaches are home to around 2,000 permanent residents.

Architecture styles vary from Greek revival and colonial to modern and farmhouse. The majority of homes have one-acre lots with pools, central air conditioning and three to five bedrooms. Most of your waterfronts are $2 million and up, with several in the $5 to $8 million range, said Janalyn Travis-Messer, who has lived on the island for 20 years. She is manager of Griffing and Collins Real Estate, which currently lists interior homes in the $1.5 to $2 million range. Ms. Travis-Messer noted that the cheapest house currently on the market is $495,000. The most expensive is $35 million.

North Fork

In the 1970s and 1980s, the North Fork was more of a retirement area, but ever since the arrival of its first vineyard in 1973, the region has drawn more attention and more buyers. Today there are 26 wineries open to the public on the North Fork. The lifestyle and open stretches of farms, orchards and marshland add to the allure. What differentiates the North Fork is the open space here, said Sally Heitel, manager of Century 21 Agawam Albertsons Greenport office. Its a more laidback lifestyle and mindset. Its not the kind of party atmosphere as on the South Fork. It also doesnt have the same prices.

Greenport is the bustling bright spot of the North Fork. Art galleries, shops, restaurants and a new marina provide activities for the throngs of day-trippers that arrive in the summer. Main Street has many old captains houses (relics of Greenports whaling past), and all of the abodes are generally close together. Homes sell in the $500,000 to $550,000 range, with prices going up to $2 million.

The charming town of Orient, at the eastern tip of the fork, doesnt have a village to speak of, but its feeling of being set apart is what makes it attractive. Its only ten minutes from Greenport, but the trip is so scenic and peaceful, it seems a lot farther, said Kristen Rishe, who was born and raised there and also works with Century 21. On average, houses sell for $600,000. Going back west the key towns are: East Marion, Southold, Peconic, Cutehogue, Mattituck, Jamesport and Aquebogue. There are some newer homes in these areas. They command between $500,000 and $600,000, and the buyers tend to be from other parts of Long Island. On the waterfront, prices increase and reach the $2 million mark.


Lavish and Luminous; Destination Guide | The Hamptons and the North Fork - New York Times