Wainscott/Sagaponack: Vacant Lots Vanish
Like the rest of the South Fork, much of Wainscott's and Saga ponack's real estate activity is centered on gobbling up what little vacant land remains. This is the case, said Paul Brennan, the vice president of the local offices of Sotheby's International Realty, whether you're talking about a one-and-a-half-acre parcel or a 60-acre tract.
It's all a matter of "supply and demand," said John Leonard of John Leonard Properties in Sag Harbor. "There's nothing left. . . . What is left is very expensive." Mr. Leonard said he had seen prices in the area go up as much as 50 percent in the last 15 months, yet that hasn't slowed down property sales.
Bill McCoy, a partner in McCoy and McCoy Real Estate in Wainscott, confirmed this week that, in his neck of the woods, there's quite a bit of money floating around and "good properties don't stay on the market very long."
Large Farms For Sale
Historically farming communities, these two neighboring hamlets - one in East Hampton Town and the other in Southampton Town - continue to maintain their small-town appeal. Each still has its little red schoolhouse and stretches of farmland that offer fresh produce in season and vistas year-round.
More and more these days, however, instead of potatoes and corn the farmland in these primarily south-of-the-highway communities is sprouting houses and estates. Sotheby's last week advertised two large farm tracts under contract for sale - the 40-acre Szczepankowski farm (with buildings) in Wainscott and 60 agricultural acres of Cliff Foster's Sagaponack farm. However, these are likely to remain in agricultural use.
Driving Up Prices
The Wainscott farm is in contract for "under, but not by much" an asking price of $6.5 million, according to Mr. Brennan. The potential buyer, whose identity Mr. Brennan would not disclose, is interested in continuing the property's use as a farm.
The Sagaponack farm has been sold to Dan Shedrick, who owns a house in Bridgehampton. The asking price was $7 million. Though some of the property probably will be subdivided into large lots for houses, Lee Foster, Mr. Foster's wife, said a great portion of the land will remain in agricultural use. They "sold the diamond in order to keep the bracelet,"Mrs. Foster said.
Mr. Brennan noted that the buyer's plans reflected the trend toward oversized lots "to maintain a sense of space" for property owners.
The limited amount of vacant land has dampened the spirits of those who would prefer to build their own houses and has driven up asking prices for existing houses, Mr. Leonard said. He suggested that the high prices were slowing down sales of existing houses.
More Tear-Downs
And, because vacant land is all but gone, Mr. McCoy said he expected to see more tear-downs happen in Wainscott in the future, much like a phenomenon occurring in other parts of town where properties in particular areas are in high demand.
As for summer rentals this season in Wainscott and Sagaponack, there are mixed reports. Mr. Brennan said this year's rentals were "on par" with last year's. He said that average summer rentals range from $25,000 to $55,000 but that monthly rentals, especially for August, were off.
Plenty Of Rentals
Mr. McCoy was not as optimistic, saying that rentals "have not been good this year." He said there was quite a stock of rentals still available and that some renters have had to settle for less money or shorter-term leases.
Mr. Leonard said there are still plenty of rentals available, even though the busy Memorial Day weekend has passed, and that the prices are dropping.
"People who haven't rented now are calling and saying 'I'll take July, I'll take August,' which is something they haven't done before," said Mr. Leonard.