Staying at a designer estate less than 1,600 feet from the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton last week must have been a deluxe, but expensive, stay.
The short-term listing price for the weeklong event was a staggering $500,000 for a five bedroom, seven bathroom abode a mere 1.1 mile drive away from the Shinnecock Hills Clubhouse. Amenities included an infinity pool, spa, private gym, open air kitchen, multiple fireplaces, media and game rooms. All the children could comfortably sleep in the “bunk room,” according to Sotheby’s International Realty, which brokered the deal for an unnamed visitor.
Only a fraction of the more than 240,000 people who attended the U.S. Open this year had such a remarkable stay, but many did opt to rent for the short-term. Online residential listing portal Out East released a report this month highlighting a 40 percent uptick in the number of short-term rentals listed on the South Fork. Out East has been operated by StreetEasy, a Zillow Group subsidiary, since 2017 as an online listing service for home buyers, renters and real estate agencies.
“With such heightened demand for accommodations near the course, we’re seeing more Hamptons homeowners put their houses on the rental market—particularly for short-term rental periods,” Out East general manager Matt Daimler said. “Many homeowners who’d once only considered renting out their homes for the entire summer are rethinking their strategy, now allowing short-term stays to accommodate spectators this June and make some extra money during this high-traffic week of the summer.”
Unlike brokerages, Out East doesn’t actually rent out properties itself. Rather, the website just showcases listings added by real estate agents. Out East’s data doesn’t distinguish between a property that is unavailable—for instance, if the homeowners are using the home themselves for the time period—from a property that has been rented out already. So, while its statistics account for the rental supply on the South Fork, they don’t exactly correlate to the demand for rentals.
Shinnecock and Hampton Bays, which are closest to the golf course, saw the most growth in short-term rentals listings—up 25 percent year-over-year. Many of the rentals on the market, especially those hamlets, as well as Southampton and Water Mill, were available only for the week of the U.S. Open. Prices for short-term rentals spiked, with the largest uptick—12 percent—in Shinnecock. Water Mill renters shelled out the most—a $25,000 median asking price.
The trend was similar for online rental marketplaces, like Airbnb, which saw the number of guests double, from about 480 to 830, during the U.S. Open. Nearly 20 percent of those short-term rentals were for an individual room, and not for a whole house. For the rest of the summer, 407 hosts are expecting 9,230 guests in East Hampton Town, and 254 hosts are expecting 4,851 guests in Southampton Town.
But Out East said it didn’t see those tournament-goers or typical Memorial Day-to-Labor Day renters sticking around for the full summer. Compared to last year, long-term rentals through the site dropped 12 percent.
That is contrary to what several area real estate agencies have informally reported.
“While we’ve seen exceptional strength in the rental market in and around the time of the U.S. Open this year, it shouldn’t be overlooked that the highest percentage of rentals still remains the period between August 1st and Labor Day,” Douglas Elliman Regional Vice President of Sales Carl Benincasa said. “This speaks to the inherent strength of the rental market, independent of a boost from an international event like the Open.”
As for statistics, much of the analysis will be included in brokerage’s second-quarter reports, or not at all, said Judi Desiderio, the founder and CEO of Town & Country Real Estate.
“Most brokers don’t do short-term rentals since most municipalities frown upon them” Ms. Desiderio said, referring to short-term rental laws that fall in and out of popularity every few years. The trend away from one-month and Memorial Day-to-Labor Day rentals has remained a staple since 2009, she added.
“So, rentals for one week or less are usually done online,” Ms. Desiderio said, perhaps through a listing service.
Compass’s senior managing director in East Hampton, John Gicking, echoed that it’s a strong rental season for both short- and long-term rentals over last year.
“However, as is typically the case, the combination of fragmented demand—lots of inquiries on very specific rental periods—combined with an excess supply means there are a lot of unrented properties,” Mr. Gicking said.
Summerlong renters tend to gravitate toward the more populated villages for the shopping, nightlife and easy access to the beach, Mr. Benincasa said. Perhaps, he added, long-term renters seek the comfort that comes with booking through a real estate agent who knows the area and can show them homes over an online service “that cannot.”
Services like Airbnb are also more notably used to find a place to stay for the weekend, Mr. Benincasa said.
on Jun 25, 2018