Hamptons Celebrity Real Estate News & Notes: Madonna, Farrell, Cooper

Countess LuAnn de Lesseps, star of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York City,” bought a waterfront home in Sag Harbor. The 2,500-square-foot house, built in 1835, reportedly sold for $3.1 million. De Lesseps is still trying to sell her Bridgehampton property, and has lowered the price from $9.2 million to $8.995 million.

Town & Country, the Hamptons-based real estate firm founded by Judi A Desiderio, has welcomed two new members to its sale team, Tim Burch and Melissa Flaherty. Burch formerly worked for Sotheby’s International Realty. Flaherty is a Montauk native who has returned to the East End after many years in Hawaii, where she was a student at University of Hawaii and later manager of Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber. She currently resides in East Hampton.

Sandcastle, the 31,000-square-foot Bridgehampton estate owned by popular builder Joe Farrell, was featured on HGTV’s America’s Outrageous Homes last Friday. The property is currently available for a two-week summer rental—for $400,000. Past renters have included Hamptons fans Beyoncé and Jay-Z.

Anderson Cooper, who owns two homes in Quiogue, is reportedly renting one out this summer. For $150,000, a lucky South Fork visitor can live next door to the newsman, in a 3,600-square-foot house on 2.4 acres, from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Meridith Baer, stager to the stars and host of the HGTV show, Staged to Perfection, is coming to the Hamptons. She’s reportedly staging a new home built by Tom Bennett. The 7,000-square-foot house is in Water Mill, next to Matt Lauer’s ranch. It’s in contract with a list price of $4.795 million. Baer’s high-profile clients include Heidi Klum, Brad Pitt and Madonna.

The Enzo Morabito Team of Douglas Elliman Real Estate was once again named the #1 Team in the Hamptons at the annual Ellies Achievement Ceremony, held recently at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, NY. The Enzo Morabito Team, which has offices in Bridgehampton, Southampton and Westhampton Beach, received the company’s top award based on the team’s 2013 sales achievements. Dottie Herman, president and CEO of Douglas Elliman, and Ann Conroy, president of Douglas Elliman’s Long Island division, presented the awards. The award-winning team includes Greg Geuer, Aimee Fitzpatrick Martin and Tim Morabito. Morabito said, “We are grateful to our loyal clients and customers who’ve helped us achieve our success.”