Summer homes in the Hamptons regularly rent out for $25,000 to $800,000 for the stretch of weeks from Memorial Day to Labor Day. But this year a handful of properties are on the market for as much as $1 million for the season–and in at least one case, for a single month.
Developer Joe Farrell's personal estate, known as Sandcastle, takes the cake for the most optimistic list price: $1 million for July or for August. The 31,000-square-ft of living space (including a 4,000-square-foot rec room), at 612 Halsey Lane in Bridgehampton, is not even on the water. But Farrell has good reason to pitch his property so high: he has gotten as much as $500,000 for two weeks in the past, says a source familiar with his deals. Past renters have included a wealthy Russian as well as Beyonce and Jay-Z, who reportedly paid $400,000.
Another home on the stratospheric price-per-day scale is 493 Rose Hill Road in Watermill, listed for $600,000 for August alone. The home overlooks Mecox Bay and hasn't been offered as summer rental before, says Gary DePersia, the Corcoran agent who shares the listing with Sotheby's Harald Grant. It's also on the market for purchase (price tag: $32.95 million).
Compared to monthly rates this high, the priciest listing for the summer season as a whole almost seems at a discount. Linden is an 18,000-square-foot estate on ten acres at 160 Ox Pasture Road, in Southampton's Estate section about a block and a half from the beach. For the weeks from Memorial Day through Labor Day, the owners are asking $950,000–the Hamptons' highest rate for current rental listings for the entire summer season. The home is also currently listed for sale at $45 million, after previously listing for $67.5 million.
Brokers insist that these homes will indeed find renters. Although dreary weather has retarded the summer rental search, activity is now beginning to pick up. "I think the demand is there this year," says DePersia. "You may see some additional properties being listed that weren't listed before because the owners feel they can get it."
In order to command a $1 million price point–whether for the season or a single month–a home has to be particularly unique or well-situated. In the case of Sandcastle, Joe Farrell's home, special features include a half-pipe in the basement. The 15,000-square-foot estate at Rose Hill Road is on a point that boasts panoramic views of the bay. And Linden's large lot size of ten acres are unheard of in the Hamptons. "It's an old estate which got converted into the 21st century. It has all the modern features you need and still breathe the old estate air here," says Michaela Keszler, of Douglas Elliman, who shares the listing with Harald Grant of Sotheby's.
Designed by noted architect Grosvenor Atterbury as far back as circa 1899 (see p. 50, here) Linden was constructed in 1915, according to Elliman. The original owner, Rufus Lenoir Patterson, founded the American Machine and Foundry Company (A.M.F.), which made cigarette-rolling and pretzel-bending machines, and today is known as a leading maker of bowling equipment. During Patterson's lifetime, the estate was called Lenoir after the businessman's middle name.
The current owner, former Esprit executive Jurgen Friedrich–who graced the FORBES Billionaires List in 2008–and his wife have thoroughly renovated the place, as was evident on a recent exclusive tour with FORBES. Driving up the estate's circular drive, visitors get their first view of an impressively broad, cream-colored facade edged by perfectly-groomed greenery. Just inside the front doors, a lobby opens up into an expansive living area that faces a wall of windows. To the left is a coat closet with enough space for 100 or more guests. Music pipes in through the sound system.
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