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“Would you care for a lobster cup with remoulade sauce?” a server asked at a sumptuous brokers’ open house at 106 Halsey Lane in Bridgehampton on Thursday afternoon.
Near the pool, which is topped by a waterfall, Peter Weiss played bass; Wayne Sabello was at the keyboards; a bartender stood at the ready. Inside, past European wooden doors, Carrara marble and glittering chandeliers, goodie bags were lined up in the library waiting for visitors to finish their tours of the 15,000-square-foot manse, two-story “recreation pavilion,” tennis court and grounds, and pick up glossy brochures prepared by Vincent Horcasitas of Saunders, which has a co-exclusive with Corcoran for the $9.2 million home as well as for a nearly completed $12.9 million, 17,000-square-foot home next door at 104 Halsey Lane.
As an added incentive, brokers are being offered a $100,000 bonus for a sale and $10,000 to secure a rental ($350,000 for July through Labor Day).
“Brokers are very busy people,” said Alison Barwick of Corcoran, who’d organized the party, explaining that they have many houses to choose from and “a lot of people bidding for their time.” In addition, she said as visitors gathered at tables decorated with blue hydrangeas and white roses before plates of poached salmon, lobster salad and filet mignon, “they love to be treated right.”
Throwing an “over-the-top open house” was a way to draw their attention to the quality of the homes, Ms. Barwick said, adding that it is considerably high, with all the “bells and whistles” from home movie theater to gym and sauna to wine cellar and staff quarters and much more.
Thus far the brokers had responded very well, Ms. Barwick said about halfway through the four-hour open house. And they told her the homes were priced right, she said, adding, “You hardly ever hear brokers say that.”
Virginia Garrison on May 30, 2014