Signs of Financial Euphoria: Hamptons Real Estate
Get ready for the worst summer ever. Apparently the best rentals out on the East End are already gone. The little Gatsbys of the world have hoovered them up with this year’s giant bonuses, according to the New York Sun.
"The market is incredible. It's the best couple months we've had, probably since 2003," a Corcoran Group realtor tells the Sun.
Translation: The financial euphoria of Wall Street has once again devoured the Hamptons. When a real estate agent says a summer rental market is “the best” that means exactly the opposite for anyone looking for a place to rent.
And the real estate guys know exactly who is the blame: you. Assuming, of course, you work on Wall Street and earn a salary that could feed hundreds of starving children in impoverished places such as Greenwich, Connecticut. (And our survey results tell us you probably are.)
Considering last year's record bonuses in the financial sector, who needs to settle?
"It's the playground for Wall Street," one of Corcoran's top brokers in Bridgehampton, Gene Stilwell, said. He says that even if someone has the cash for high-end real estate, property is scarce.
"Every time I call for a high-end rental the lease is out," Mr. Stilwell said. "Looking for 8,000 square feet? It's just gone."
A local agent for Sotheby's, Myles Reilly, who has worked exclusively in the Hamptons for the past 15 years, says the rental market is the strongest he's ever seen: "Last year the rental season came late. This season there's not a lot of flexibility of price and the inventory is very tight."
The top agent at Prudential Douglas Elliman's Southhampton office, Laura Nigro, agrees that the big bucks from Wall Street made all the difference.
Hamptons Rental Market Soars [New York Sun]
