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Price That House! is our price guessing game. We provide some details and pictures from a local listing, and you have a go at the price. Thursday, we reveal the answer. Remember, this is all for fun, so please: no wagering.

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What/Where: 10 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms / Sagaponack

Square footage: 6000 square foot (main)

Acreage: 8

The Deets: Avid Hamptons real estate watchers will remember this place. It sold, along with 23 acres of preserved farmland with barn, back in the autumn of 2014 for $27 million. The buyers just wanted the farmland, so the house along with eight acres, which includes 300 feet of oceanfront, a house and guest house, and views of Sagg Pond as well of the ocean, was put back on the market for $33 million in 2015. Five years later, it’s still on the market.

Now—how much are they asking for it?

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We’re big fans of Hamptons/Connecticut/Florida architect David Neff around here. Rather than fight with the existing architectural style of a house, he works with it to update it and make the most of what’s there. Previously, he updated a dated contemporary with a fun retro Jetsons style; now he’s taken a French-style villa overlooking the golf course in Westhampton Beach and shucked off the 70s, making the place now modern, updated, light and fresh.

The house was previously quite—well, “dire” is the only word that comes to mind. There were nice parts, such as the two fireplaces and the patio with canopy

but the kitchen, for example, needed to be burned with fire.

And the “rustic” den was almost offensively ugly

while the living room was just too fusty, Mario-Buatta-80s for the Hamptons.

In came David Neff to save the day. Out went the fussy old fashioned draperies, the Louis XVI furniture, and the dated wallpaper, and in came white marble, a soothing blue-and-green color palette, and plenty of white paint.  We particularly like the restrained, modern use of pattern, such as the tiles behind the kitchen range and the wallpapered niches in the living room.

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Now the house is ready for a new family. It’s 3700 square feet with four bedrooms and four and a half baths, a good, manageable size. There’s also a lower level with a second laundry room, and there’s also a 700 square foot attic that can be converted for additional space. Repped by Aimee Fitzpatrick Martin at Saunders, the property is now asking $3.15 million. There’s 0.9 of an acre of land, with a gunite pool. And, best of all, there is nothing whatsoever to do.

Looking for a bolthole away from the city? This is a great option.

• 51 White Oak Lane, Westhampton Beach [Saunders]

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Image via Twitter/nychange 

Man, it’s hard to be a billionaire these days. It’s the summer of Covid, so you’re out at your oceanfront (or nonoceanfront, in the case of Bloomberg) Hamptons mansion, sitting on your solid gold throne, thinking about taking back the reins of your hedge fund, when a big rabble of the Poors shows up wielding pitchforks. (Sorry, guys, we may have given out your addresses.)

We have to admit, the pitchforks are a nice touch. We personally would have carried a burning torch, as in all the best revolts, but maybe the fire department frowns on that. Yesterday, about 200 people chanted “Tax the rich, not the poor!” outside of Bloomberg’s Southampton home, which he bought in 2011 for $20 million. Given that Ballyshear is 35 acres, who knows if Bloomberg heard them or if he was even there.

That said, the protestors have a point. Wealth inequality is a growing problem in the United States and Covid-19 is only making it worse. Working class people can’t just conduct Zoom meetings at home during this pandemic. The stock market is thriving, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Lines at food banks are depressingly long and the unemployment rate is 11.1% today. Taking the rage out on individual people (who may not have even been home) isn’t necessarily fair, but this is a serious issue that our elected officials would be wise to listen to this November.

And remember what John Ball said back in 1381–though he got his head stuck on a pike on London Bridge for his trouble:

When Adam delved and Eve span, Who was then the gentleman? From the beginning all men by nature were created alike, and our bondage or servitude came in by the unjust oppression of naughty men.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Hi, everyone! Long time no hear. Today our company is launching our new blog, Hamptons Hot Sheet, which will feature the hottest news in real estate, along with restaurant and retail, just as in the olden days at Curbed.

We know you’re crazy-busy right now, so we won’t waste your time with drivel. After all, we’ve been monitoring the East End real estate scene for many years now, so we have the ears of the coolest brokers, insider knowledge, and great relationships to build on. You’ll get real, frank opinions, fun gossip, and cool maps to play with as well as the hottest real estate news, scoops you always find here first, intel on the Hamptons restaurant and retail scenes, gossip, and more.

But we also want to know what you want from us. Tell us! Send us suggestions in comments below, email us or send via the anonymous tip sheet on the site footer. We’ve always depended on readers for hot tips and good insights, so please, if you know something, say something. Either email us directly or use the tipline on the site footer.

So let’s do this thing, shall we? Subscribe to the newsletter here. (We won’t ever sell or share your name without permission.) And please like us on Facebook, tweet us at @HamptonsHot and follow us on Instagram. Want to advertise? Of course you do! Email us here.

Happy Hamptons summer, everyone!

What’s the thing that’s driving Hamptons real estate agents crazy so far this season?
The huge influx of city brokers who have no clue about the Hamptons!

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There’s a lot to love about this Montauk property, listed by Susan Ceslow at Douglas Elliman for $2.895 million. First, and most important, is the location. It is directly across from the ocean with nothing to spoil the view. (The electric and telephone poles in the pictures are scheduled to be removed in the next few weeks.) Walk across the road and you are on the beach. From the deck, you can see sand and waves breaking, and all through the house you can see, hear, and smell the ocean.

The house is decorated in a vintage Montauk style. There are three bedrooms and 2.5 baths, as well as a living room with Montauk fireplace, generous dining room, and sunroom with beautiful views.

If that weren’t enough, this property also sports a newly built guest cottage in back on its 0.25 of an acre. (High hedges surround the property for privacy.) The guest cottage is also vintage in style, with two bedrooms, one bath, kitchen and living room.

Properties on Old Montauk Highway are highly sought-after, especially if they include a separate rentable house. This beauty is one of a kind and couldn’t be duplicated today.

For more, click here. 689 Old Montauk Highway, Montauk

We love how we feel after a day at the beach: the salt water is so soothing and good for the skin. And after a long, busy day, there’s nothing better than a hot bath—except, of course, a hot bath enriched with fragrant bath salts. Local entreprenuer Dawn Watson agrees. She has introduced a new line of bath salts called Hamptons Spa Sand. “No matter where you may be, now it’s possible to enjoy a day at the beach,” says Watson. “Hamptons Spa Sand brings Hamptons-style luxury off the beach and into your bath.”

Watson makes the salts herself in her adorable pink cottage on the South Fork. Fragrances and colors evoke the East End perfectly, including Rosé, Hydrangea, Beach, Sunset and Sunrise. We’re thinking these would make perfect hostess gifts, housewarming presents or thank-yous. We’re also happy that the products and packaging are all natural and environmentally friendly, using eco-compostable packaging whenever possible.

Check it out on Instagram here and Facebook here.

It just doesn’t get any better than oceanfront in the Georgica Asssociation. The private 100-acre enclave on Georgica Pond’s west side was founded in the late 1800s and rarely has anything available. There’s only one road in and one out of the neighborhood, which is gated and guarded. The community offers tennis, sailing, baseball and a clubhouse, plus of course, priceless bragging rights.

Well, maybe not so priceless, as this stunning property is available for $37 million. Represented as a co-exclusive by Bespoke RE and Ed Petrie at Compass, the two-acre property boasts 161 feet of oceanfront. Unlike many of the grand old estates in the Association, this is a relatively new build. The property is the site of the former guesthouse of iconic Kilkare.

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The previous owners of Kilkare sold two acres in 2001 for $6 million to the current owner of 38 Association. The guest cottage was razed, and in 2005, the new house, designed by Shope Reno Wharton, and built by Ben Krupinski Builder, began to rise above the dunes. In a very appealing, timeless Shingle Style design, the house is open concept, with a living space filled with rustic beams. In all, there is 6,537 square feet of space with five bedrooms and five full and two half baths. Of course most rooms have a beautiful ocean view, or views of open space or Georgica Pond.

Now comes the $37 million question. Is it worth it? Hard to say. The nearest comp is of course next door, but it’s not really easy to draw conclusions. Kilkare, with 5,000 square feet, is smaller than this house, although it boasts slightly more land with 2.81 acres. Kilkare closed in January for $24.3 million, $13 million give or take less than this, but that house really needs work. (We’ve had it whispered to us that it won’t survive the next hurricane and needs to be moved back.) Is a recently built house with modern amenities worth $13 million more? We’re not entirely sure, but our feeling is yes. What say you? Let us know in the comments.

• An iconic beachfront setting [Bespoke]
• 38 Association Road [Compass]

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Sometimes it feels like you can’t walk through any of the Hamptons’ many villages without bumping into a celebrity. There’s a good reason for that. A shocking number of actors, musicians, directors and designers have residences out here.

To give you an idea where these folks spend their downtime, we’ve compiled this handy map of some of the more notable folks in the area and the places they call home.

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