Gone are the days when a mighty mansion was the ultimate in Hamptons real estate. Today there’s a focus on the compound —multiple large structures on one buyer’s plot of land — and these expansive retreats are making big waves this selling season.
“It’s exclusivity, space, privacy and the ability to have multiple dwellings — they’re trophy properties,” says Bespoke Real Estate co-founder Zachary Vichinsky. He and brother Cody have two multimillion-dollar compounds — fit for large families and grand Gatsby-style entertainers — currently for sale.
One of them — an estate with three large properties in Sagaponack — asks a cool $59.9 million. These Grade-designed modern builds will include an 11,665-square-foot main house on one end, a 10,850-square-foot guest house on the other, and a recreational pavilion in between, featuring spa treatment rooms, a sunken tennis court and a custom pool. Spanning 285 to 289 Parsonage Lane, the properties are also available for individual sale, with prices from $19.99 million.
In Bridgehampton, the Vichinsky brothers listed a 17.5-acre compound for $28.5 million in a co-exclusive with Corcoran. Plans are in place for a Shope Reno Wharton-designed 15,000-square-foot main home that features spa-treatment rooms, a gym, art gallery and separate horse barn. Alongside stands a constructed 7,000-square-foot guest house with a media room, library and finished lower level. They share a 60-foot pool, a clubhouse, tennis court and outdoor kitchen. Like their other listing, these properties are also available for individual sale: The guest house alone asks $14.99 million.
“For people looking only for the best, this is it,” Vichinsky adds of compound living.
If waterfront living is a must, there’s another compound estate for sale on Hook Pond in East Hampton for $18 million. With two homes atop the land — one of them renovated — this Sotheby’s listing includes seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms between them, as well as a waterside patio equipped with a grilling station. And for those who prefer turnkey new construction, Corcoran has a newly built spread with roomy main and guest houses, plus a pool house, on the market for $6.49 million in North Haven. With a 54-foot pool, a media room and a chef’s kitchen across 8,527 square feet, now’s the time to plan your summer gatherings.
Rough-hewn wood, beamed ceilings, poured concrete flooring, exposed ductwork and oversize windows adorn the look of each home in the Mark Zeff-designed Black Barn residences. With an aim to deliver two to three of these farmhouse structures to the East End each year, Black Barn’s second property will debut in Sag Harbor this October. (Zeff himself resides in the first one, in East Hampton.) The upcoming 8,300-square-foot Sag Harbor spread, priced at approximately $4 million, will have four bedrooms and 5½ bathrooms.
“The concept is not to build huge houses, but to build something different with all the bells and whistles that are expected,” says Zeff of these homes. And he’s not the only one using a modern farm look as his inspiration.
A three-level modern farmhouse now stands in Sagaponack; it too comes with all the luxe amenities typical of Hamptons properties. Completed in 2014 and priced at $6.29 million, this stucco 8,500-square-foot dwelling boasts lofted beamed ceilings, spacious entertaining areas and walls of windows that slide wide open. Through these windows, there’s an outdoor courtyard and movie theater, a pool with a 60-foot lap lane, and room for a tennis court.
“The old and compartmentalized estate homes aren’t conducive to people’s lifestyles anymore,” says Zachary Vichinsky of Bespoke Real Estate, which has an under-construction 14,181-square-foot farmhouse in Bridgehampton available for $25.99 million. The rectangular property will come with barn-style wooden siding and a pointed metal roof. “The farm-style home offers wide open entertainment space in a seamless flow that lends itself to that modern feeling.”
At this Bridgehampton listing, the buyer will get just that. Glass walls in the double-height living room will lead directly to the outdoor entertaining areas, including patio space with an outdoor kitchen, 60-foot saltwater pool and tennis court.
Two summer homes are better than one.
The contemporary-style home at 120 Beach Lane in Wainscott South, now on the market for $26.5 million, is not just any multi-million-dollar waterfront Hamptons listing. Standing at 3,500 square feet, the property is nestled on a prime skinny lot between Wainscott Pond and the Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, it’s one of J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler’s several East End homes, which include the former Warhol estate in Montauk, and one in Sagaponack.
For a select number of Hamptons denizens, owning one home is simply not enough. These individuals — who have property located on the waterfront as well as inland — say they seek to experience more of what the region can offer.
Desiderio and her husband own two homes in East Hampton. While they’ll escape the crowds to reside in their secluded 4,000-square-foot beachfront home this summer, they’ll rent out their centrally located East Hampton Village property from Memorial Day through Labor Day for $110,000.
Drexler and Desiderio are in some famous company. Supermodel Christie Brinkley owns two homes in the Hamptons: an estate in Bridgehampton and a beach home in Sag Harbor.
Until recently, real estate entrepreneur Don Peebles owned two Hamptons homes — a sprawling Bridgehampton estate and a 3,000-square-foot Sag Harbor beach cottage. He sold the latter, which he and his family used for day trips, in December for $2.85 million. “It was the best of both worlds,” says Peebles of his two-home lifestyle.
For ages, the concept of a seaside condo seemed a little, well, grandma-ish. Not anymore, thanks to a new boom in ultra-high-end resort-style condo developments out east, like Bishops Pond, in Southampton. Launched in 2013 with 69 homes, it expanded this year with 10 new townhouses with prices from $1.9 million to $2.4 million. Each property boasts three to four bedrooms, airy 9- to 12-foot ceilings, oversize windows and a backyard space. Townhouse buyers will also have access to the complex’s spacious private clubhouse, pool, tennis courts and concierge services.
“[Condo living] doesn’t include the tedious maintenance, hedge trimmers, lawn mowers, maids and all the other people it takes to service a home out here,” says Keith Green of Halstead Property, who’s handling sales at the 15-unit Harbor’s Edge project in Sag Harbor. This community launched sales last month with prices from $2.25 million, with 14 homes now available.
The mix at Harbor’s Edge includes two- and three-bedroom condos, as well as penthouses, with one of the latter staged by city-based interior designer Bradley Stephens. Residences feature ceilings up to 10 feet high, custom millwork, and appliances bearing the Sub-Zero, Wolf and Thermador logos. Shared amenities include a rooftop deck with lap pool, wet bar and kitchens; owners also all have access to an in-season concierge.
With high demand for these city-style properties and the supply short, developers now aim to bring even more to the Hamptons. Among the projects filtering through the planning and approval phases is a 48-unit townhouse development proposed for Water Mill and a 25-unit condominium project in Southampton, according to reports.
In the meantime, interested Hamptons buyers still have other choices. The nearly completed (and largely sold) 63-unit Watchcase in Sag Harbor has homes for sale for $2.85 million to $10.2 million. Among them are the single-floor and duplex penthouses, priced from $4.25 million, with beamed ceilings, brick walls and oversize windows, and interiors by Steven Gambrel. With a landscaping staff, concierge and superintendent, buyers need not worry about any tedious upkeep.
This also applies at Bridgehampton’s 37-home Barn & Vine, where prices now begin at $2.69 million. The complex has housekeeping, pet care, errand services and even access to personal chefs for its well-heeled buyers— leaving them plenty of time to enjoy their summer.
Want more bang for your summer house buck, plus plenty of privacy and even stunning bay views?
In-the-know buyers are gearing up for the summer season by touring estates in areas like Bridgehampton North, Sagaponack North and Amagansett North. With the median north-of-the-highway listing price at $1.37 million — a massive 53.1 percent below the $2.93 million median tallied south of the highway, according to property appraisers Miller Samuel — there are relative deals to be had.
Take the 7,200-square-foot, eight-bedroom spreadon 5.5 acres in Water Mill North that’s asking $3.95 million. Over in Southampton, a gated bay-front, 3,100-square-foot modern, asking $3.28 million, has windowed walls with water views, a pool and its own boat dock.
And for those who don’t prioritize proximity to the bay, there are loads of inland gems. A 5,615-squarefoot, five-bedroom Sag Harbor residence with a chef’s kitchen, finished attic and basement, as well as a pool, is listed for $2.99 million. Also in Water Mill North, there’s a 4,000-square-foot modernist build set on 2.1 acres listed for $2.95 million. It comes with four bedrooms, three bathrooms and two fireplaces, as well as a pool and tennis court.
It’s the extra value that led Mark Rosenberg, 42, and his wife to purchase a 5,600-square-foot spread north of the highway in Water Mill with a pool and room for a tennis court.
“This house south of the highway, with the property we have, would have been double the cost,” Rosenberg says.
Even the jet set loves a bargain.