Month: March 2021

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Honestly, we’re a little confused about everything, but you know that’s never stopped us before. A couple weeks ago, the New York Post reported that Donald Trump Jr and girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle had sold their Kellis Way, Bridgehampton, house in an off-market deal. They purchased it in 2019 for $4.4 million. And according to the Post, the sales price was $8.14 million. Double in two years? That seems odd to us. James Giugliano and Shawn Egan of Nest Seekers were reportedly the brokers on the deal.

(We will say: many established brokers have been questioning or raised an eyebrow about the sale, since nobody seems to have seen an official transfer.)

Now the current owner, 23 KW LLC, is making the place available for rent via Shawn Egan. Just $625,000 for MD-LD! (Or there’s new construction next door for $275,000, July-LD. Take your pic.)

It’s a nice place, though the old listing photos shown here make it a seem little bland, and Kellis Way, despite being south the highway, isn’t where we’d choose in Bridgehampton. It’s right next to the shopping center and Kellis Way doesn’t connect to any through streets.

We guess we’ll see what happens. Will anyone rent it?

 

 

On the East End, we’re all about the locavore these days, and it doesn’t get any better than The Hamptons Kitchen, a delicious regional cookbook, and the North Fork Chocolate Company, which makes a variety of delicious treats right in house. On April 3, the day before Easter, stop by 740 Main Road, Aquebogue, between noon to 4PM to get your own copy of The Hamptons Kitchen signed by co-author Stacy Dermont. While you’re there, fill your family’s Easter baskets with local candy and delicacies.

“I can’t wait to get out there, all safe and socially distanced, to talk with the public about the joys of locavorism!” Dermont said. The Hamptons Kitchen offers simple recipes appropriate for Long Island’s different seasons and features Dermont’s suggested wine and beer pairings.

Chef Steve of the North Fork Chocolate Company incorporates local ingredients into his chocolate and catering work—including beers, wines, fruits, and foraged herbs and seaweed. “I’m an intuitive cook and artist,” said Chef Steve. “I do what feels right, and that always centers on the best the North Fork has to offer—we live in a uniquely rich food shed.”

Why not support local endeavor—deliciously? See you April 3!

 

 

Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that pharma billionaire Stewart Rahr, who once cut a swath through Hamptons parties of the past decade calling himself Stewie Rah Rah, is in contract to sell Burnt Point, his 24-acre estate on the Wainscott side of Georgica Pond. Rahr first listed Burnt Point back in 2015, asking $95 million. The sales price is reportedly $50 million, which is only $5 million more than he paid for it in 2005. At the time, this was the most expensive home ever sold in New York State.

The property first made headlines in 1996, selling to commodities trader David Campbell for a record setting $10M. Campbell commissioned architect Francis Fleetwood to build the house, which was completed in 1999. Campbell then put the estate on the market in 2000, asking $50M. (Whence the name? A forest fire around the turn of the twentieth century that denuded the point.)

The property offers 2000 feet of frontage on Georgica Pond and views to the ocean. The house is a massive 18,000 square feet with eight bedrooms; part of it is a self-contained four bedroom and 4.5 bath guest wing with its own balcony and sitting room. Outside, there’s a tennis court with pavilion; pool, hot tub and waterfall; professional greenhouse; boat house; dock on a small beach; and a pretty waterside gazebo perfect for relaxing.

The property was most recently listed by Bespoke. Well done to all.

Actress Julianne Moore has sold her adorable Montauk cottage, right on Fort Pond, for the asking price of $2.85 million. Five years ago, her asking price for the 0.69-acre spread was $3.5 million, which seemed overpriced then.

The house is small, with three bedrooms and just one bath, but it’s really extremely charming, with scraped barnwood floors and a small clawfoot tub in the bathroom. And the property is also extremely private, which is great when you’re an Academy Award winning actress. There’s also a saltwater gunite pool overlooking the pond and a pool house. The lucky new owners can paddleboard or kayak from their backyard.

• Second House Road, Montauk [OE]

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Was it something we said? Was Zeldin not strident enough defending Dad? Or is it just the entire family is moving to Florida? We suspect the last. News came on Saturday, via the New York Post, that Donald Trump Jr and girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle have sold their Kellis Way, Bridgehampton, house in an off-market deal. They purchased it in 2019 for $4.4 million. According to the Post, the sales price was $8.14 million. Hmmmm, really? Almost double in two years? It’s a nice place, though the old listing photos make it a little bland, and Kellis Way, despite being south the highway, isn’t where we’d choose in Bridgehampton. It’s right next to the shopping center and Kellis Way doesn’t connect to any through streets.

James Giugliano, of Nestseekers, and Shawn Egan were reportedly the brokers on the deal.

 

News comes this morning that 70 Further Lane, East Hampton, has traded off the market, selling for $59.5 million just last month. The seller was 70 Further Lane LLC, while the buyer was 70 Further Lane Holdings LLC. (Well, that’s imaginative!)

We, of course, know that 70 Further Lane was the home of legendary short-seller Jim Chanos, who’s been called the Darth Vader of Wall Street, the Catastrophe Capitalist, and the LeBron James of short selling. He is of course most famous for correctly predicting and shorting Enron. Recently, the billionaire was known for shorting Tesla, but he’s now changed to a put position.

And we guess he hit his strike price on 70 Further Lane! The property is what we’d call “semi-oceanfront,” as in, there are just dunes between the house and the ocean, but we think this is one of those properties where the Nature Conservancy owns the dunes. (If we’re wrong, let us know.) The house looks comparatively modest for the area, on a long, thin 2.97 acre plot.

What do you think? We’re fairly sure this will be on a top 10 list of sales for 2021.

 

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Kit houses were the latest thing in North America a hundred years ago. It’s estimated that between 1908 and 1940, more than 100,000 kit homes were sold. These houses made the latest technology–central heating, indoor plumbing, electricity–available at an affordable price. The purchaser would receive all of the supplies by rail for assembly either by the homeowner or a local builder.

Sears issued its first specialty catalog, Book of Modern Homes and Building Plans, in 1908, featuring 44 house styles priced from $360-$2,890. This house in Jamesport is the Hamilton model from 1926, which cost $2,195. (By the way, $2,195 in 2021 dollars is $32,616.71. This property is in contract at $590,000. A good investment! Though of course, the $2,195 didn’t include the land.)

This house, repped by Cheryl Schneider and Regan Battuello at Daniel Gale Sotheby’s, is rather obviously owned by an artist or artistic soul. We were initially repelled by the zesty citrus colors the wood trim is painted, but finally decided we liked it a lot. Obviously, too, the living room, dining room and kitchen have been knocked together into one large room.

Set on 0.46 of an acre, there’s plenty of room for a pool. We hope the new owner keeps its vintage quirky charm.

• 210 Manor Lane, Jamesport [DG]

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We’re crazy in love with this adorable house, perfect for a small family or a downsizer, which is repped by Sarah Minardi at Saunders. Set on a manageable quarter acre of land, the house manages to combine country charm with up-to-the-minute chic. Outside, there’s a deck and patio, as well as an outdoor shower (and how much do we love the stone chimney?); inside, there’s just enough space for everything you need. The kitchen is small but adequate with marble counters. There’s a master bedroom on the first floor, along with a full bath, plus two bedrooms upstairs share another bath.

The best part? The price, $895,000. Won’t be on the market long, we bet.

• 59 Hog Creek Road [S]

Ah, good ol’ 290 Further Lane, East Hampton. The gigantic (10,000 square feet), almost-oceanfront (the Nature Conservancy actually owns the dunes in front of the house) property debuted on the market back in 2016, asking $69 million. Designed by Francis Fleetwood in 1995, the house had belonged to James and Ellen Marcus. Before his death in 2015, James Marcus was a retired partner at Goldman Sachs and the former board chairman of the Metropolitan Opera. Sadly, though, the house was suffering badly from a case of the 90s. The price was cut $20 million in 2017, finally selling in 2018 for $40 million. That was the highest Hamptons home sale of 2018.

Last autumn, the property was relisted, with many, many buckets of white paint applied, asking $68 million via Bespoke.

It turns out that the property closed on December 18 for $57,040,000 to an LLC. This makes the sale number 3 on the list of top 10 sales for 2020. Congrats to all involved.

So what do you think? Of course the market is hot now, unlike in 2018. Is the refreshed house going to sell quickly for $68 million? Let us know in the comments.

• 290 Further Lane [HRE]

 

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Croquet on the rolling lawn. Badminton. Lemonade on the patio, served by uniformed staff. One of the original East Hampton summer mansions, Onadune harks back to a slower, more gracious past. And now it can be yours for $25 million.

 

It was built by John Custis Lawrence between 1903 and 1907. Lawrence designed a number of great houses in East Hampton, mostly in this breezy Arts and Crafts style. This was, by the way, the fourth (and final) house that Mrs. S. Fisher Johnson built in East Hampton. And who were the Fisher Johnsons? The business guide New York 1894, Illustrated, reported:

S. F. JOHNSON & CO. Bankers and Brokers, No. 18 Wall Street.— This well-known concern was founded originally in January, 1869, by Johnson & Day, who were succeeded by Gwynne, Johnson & Day. and in 1879, Messrs. S. Fisher Johnson and Charles W. Miller formed a partnership under the present firm title. Both are thoroughly experienced men, and devote their close attention to the wants of their patrons.

So yep, more Wall Street bankers. Mr. S. Fisher Johnson retired in 1905–we hope, to spend more time in East Hampton–and the partnership was dissolved. Unfortunately, they didn’t get to spend too much time at Onadune, since he died in 1915 and she in 1922. They rented Onadune to John D. Rockefeller in the summer of 1907, when the house was new.

Onadune was eventually sold to someone called Edward de Clifford Chisholm, who was, wait for it, a Wall Street banker. Not surprising: even back then, it takes Wall Street (or similar) money to keep up an estate like Onadune. Sadly, by the late 80s, Onadune was in a state of severe disrepair; new owners broguht in local starchitect Peter Cook to bring the house back to its former glory. The place was last sold in 2006 for just over $15 million.

Onadune is looking mighty fine today, we must say. The original house, with its coveted third story, is in fine fettle; the original carriage house still exists with amenities we love like a wine room, dish room, and potting room. There’s also a pool house with living room, great kitchen, a bedroom, bath and laundry. In all, there are 14,000 square feet of living space on the estate, 11 bedrooms, 8 baths, and 3 half baths.

Interested? Contact Scott Strough at Compass, the listing agent. We’ll be expecting G&Ts in the sunroom.

• 30 The Crossways & 52 Georgica Road [C]

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