Unfreezing Hamptons Real Estate - Year End Market Reports Out Soon, NYT

Gary DePersia, a senior vice president of Corcoran, says contemporary houses are more in demand these days, partly because fewer of them are available. “A great modern house very often will do better in price per square foot than its traditional brethren,” he said, adding that tastes had shifted toward simpler, sleeker interiors, even in houses externally in keeping with their shingled neighbors.

SOUTHHAMPTON, LI - The year-end reports due out in the next few weeks will show whether the Hamptons mirrored the Manhattan market, which saw a significant slowdown in sales activity at the end of the year. But many brokers are optimistic, predicting that any dip will be a temporary reaction to last year’s stock market swings and economic uncertainties — a pause, rather than the beginning of another freeze...throughout most of last year, sales were particularly strong at the high end says a well known appraiser, Jonathan Miller,  but “are all these trophy property sales a proxy for the state of the housing market?” Mr. Miller asked. “My answer is no. It’s a small sliver of the market, and it’s motivated for very different reasons. If you look at the sub-million-dollar market, that market is flat."
By Susan Stellin, Jan 20, 2012 NYT

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As for which areas are faring particularly well, brokers say Sagaponack and Bridgehampton are hot, particularly among the finance set. “It used to be the estate areas of East Hampton and Southampton were always the crown jewel,” said one broker... “It seems there’s a new buyer, a younger buyer, and they’re happy to be in the farm fields of Sagaponack and Bridgehampton.” Pictured is a Sagaponack contemporary home.