The Hollywood Reporter Pits East Hampton Against Southampon
The Hollywood Reporter compared Hamptons real estate heavyweights last week, pitting East Hampton against Southampton and citing famous residents Steven Spielberg, Kate Capshaw, Jerry Seinfeld, David Koch, Leon Black, Michael Bloomberg, Christie Brinkley, Matt Lauer and Calvin Klein.
From The Hollywood Reporter: Southampton township, which encompasses Southampton village, Sagaponack, Water Mill and Bridgehampton, has seen a number of big sales. Apollo Global investment firm co-founder Marc Rowan got $28.5 million for his 9,000-square-foot Meadow Lane mansion — the most expensive deal so far this year — which he bought for $16.3 million in 2005.
Now, in a surprise, median sale prices in Southampton township are more or less on par with those in East Hampton town, which also covers Amagansett, Montauk and Wainscott. For 2011, Southampton’s median sale price of $865,000 was up 8 percent from 2010, while East Hampton’s $875,000 median price was down 9 percent in the same period, according to real estate data provider Suffolk Research Service. Southampton prices are just 6.5 percent below the 2007 peak of $925,000, while East Hampton is 20.5 percent off its 2007 peak of $1.1 million.
Stronger Southampton sale prices may have something to do with the greater availability of high-end listings there. “There are many more oceanfront sales in Southampton, typically pushing up Southampton numbers,” says Corcoran Group broker Gary DePersia.
Some have speculated that the increase in sales in Southampton has to do with the easier commute to New York City and that the buyers are now younger Wall Street types.
What’s your take on this? Why do you think more people are buying in Southampton?