Boom for Hamptons summer rentals are cooling down

Vacationers looking for a good lease in the Hamptons are in luck this summer, as rising pandemic prices cool down — with some luxury properties slashing their prices by half.

After the outbreak of the pandemic, rental costs skyrocketed as many homeowners chose not to leave their homes for the summer, and others saw renting a Long Island property as a safe escape from the city.

Now wealthy New Yorkers want to celebrate their post-pandemic freedom and some are opting for vacations further afield, according to a Hamptons realtor.

“People have been in the Hamptons for three or four years and now they’re traveling again this year,” said Susan Breitenbach, a real estate agent with Corcoran Group, told The New York Post’s On The Money.

The change in rental demand is also reflected in sales prices. In the first quarter of 2023, the median home sales price in the affluent areas of Eastern Long Island fell approximately 7.6 percent from the previous year, to $1,662,500.

Now that the pandemic is over, many wealthy New Yorkers are choosing to vacation further afield. Pictured is a house in the Hamptons

“For the past few years the market has been insane, people offering $100,000 over the asking price for a summer rental,” she said.

“Now people call me half my days asking if they should lower the rent on their house,” she added. “This year everyone I know, including myself, is going to Europe.”

What makes things more favorable for renters this summer is that there’s less competition — Wall Street bonuses fell 26 percent from last year to nearly $180,000, according to estimates from the New York State Comptroller.

Additionally, with the pandemic over and people slowly returning to their offices, the allure of the Hamptons as a remote work haven is fading.

“The pandemic was a one-time price that we had never seen before,” David Mazujian, a licensed real estate salesperson with the Corcoran Group, told the Post.

Now that the pandemic is over, many wealthy New Yorkers are choosing to vacation further afield, according to Susan Breitenbach (pictured), a real estate agent with Corcoran Group

‘But rental is alive and well, landlords are realistic and deals are being made.’

The reduced demand for rental housing was also reflected in the cost of buying homes in the Hamptons. Last month, Bloomberg reported that home prices fell for the first time since 2019.

The average home sales price fell 7.6 percent in the first quarter, while the total number of homes sold fell 44 percent from the year before to 424, according to data from Town & Country Real Estate.

Although fewer homes were sold in all price ranges, the top end of the market was hit hardest. Sales of homes priced between $10 million and $20 million fell by about 60 percent.

“The retreat began with rate hikes at an unprecedented pace, due to the highest inflation in four decades, not to mention a stock market that whipped even a seasoned investor,” Town and Country CEO Judi Desiderio told Bloomberg.

Although fewer homes were sold at all prices, the top end of the market was hit hardest. Pictured is an aerial view of Southampton, New York

Last summer, when the pandemic began to subside, the beginning of the trend was observed.

Last May, CNBC reported that the beginning of the post-pandemic era had begun. Since then, the war in Ukraine has affected energy prices, inflation has been high, and general economic uncertainty may have deterred people from making luxury purchases.

The outlet reported that many people who had rented homes for the summer in the past ended up buying them during COVID, effectively removing themselves from the market.

Miller Samuel’s latest quarterly report for Douglas Elliman found that in the Hamptons year-over-year, prices were down 2.9 percent, sales were down 60 percent, inventory was up 33 percent, and properties were down 23 days. would remain on the market for a long time. market before being sold.