Deeds and Dont’s

HEY, BIG SPENDERS!

The Hamptons are heating up, and it’s not just because of the widely spread rumor that Jennifer Lopez is putting down roots in Water Mill. As the wealthiest 1 percent of the country is driving our national economy, the Hamptons real estate market has been the happy beneficiary of a hot-and-heavy $20-million-and-up sales boom.

Beechwood, the Francis Fleetwood–designed 17,000-square-foot home on Great Plains Road in Southampton, had an asking price of $38 million and recently sold for a reported $24 million—quite a reduction, but still an inland Southampton record. On a long private drive off Further Lane in East Hampton, a 7,500-square-foot home on three-and-a-half oceanfront acres, listed at $32 million, has reportedly sold for $28 million. And a traditional mansion with deeded beach access at 6 Gracie Lane (also known as 89 Lily Pond Lane) in East Hampton just sold for $20 million.

The historic Charles H. Adams House, on Lee Avenue in East Hampton, is selling above its asking price of $24.5 million, according to listing agent Beate Moore of Sotheby’s International Realty, who describes the home as one of the Hamptons’ largest perfectly renovated shingled cottages. The historic three-story Queen Anne was built by Carnegie Hall designer William B. Tuthill. With 14,000 square feet of living space, 14 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, six fireplaces, and a heated gunite pool and spa on two manicured acres, the house was a prize, with multiple motivated buyers. Going into contract in less than a month for $25.75 million ($1.25 million higher than the ask) was “good for everyone’s morale,” notes Moore. “People are not looking for fixer uppers. Customers are looking for beautifully appointed houses in good locations. The key to activity is pricing properties correctly from the start.”

Beechwood and Further Lane: courtesy of Tim Davis, Corcoran; Charles H. Adams House: courtesy of Beate Moore, Sotheby’s International Realty