This bayfront home is located in the Springs area of East Hampton and this sale is one of the highest prices paid in Springs during the last calendar year.
The house is located in the Lion Head subdivision in Springs, which is adjacent to the Clearwater subdivision, both of which are in the far reaches of Springs. As a general rule, house prices decline as one moves farther north, away from the ocean beaches and from the convenience of the village centers. The exception to this rule is houses that are so far north that they are on, or very close, to the bay, in which case prices rise again within walking distance of the water.
Here the .85-acre lot is direct bayfront on a wide, sandy beach with a northwest orientation offering sunset views over the water. Adding to the value is that the view of the water is unobstructed by trees, with nothing but lawn and beach grass between the house and beach. In addition, all houses in the Lion Head subdivision have the use of a small marina, which is close by.
The house itself is a 3,500-square-foot, four-bedroom traditional with two fireplaces, a finished basement and a two-space garage. It was built in 1980 but it has been nicely updated with contemporary finishes and is in immaculate move-in condition. There is no pool, and it is always questionable, given current environmental laws, whether it would be possible to obtain one in this environmentally sensitive location.
Assuming a value of $300 per square foot for the structure, this sale values this lot, if vacant, at a little over $2 million, which is in line with other recent waterfront transfers in Springs. The seller paid $3,200,000 for this house at the height of the market in 2007, but like many other waterfront properties, it held its value through the crash when many other properties lots 30 percent of their value.
This property is located in the Hither Hills section of Montauk, which is in the western-most part of Montauk, just past the Napeague Stretch, between the old and new Montauk highways. The 1.3-acre site is wooded and elevated and offers panoramic, although distant, ocean views. Currently there is an old cottage on the property, but it has no economic value; this was essentially a land sale.
Prior to the crash, some fairly large, approximately 4,000-square-foot homes were built on the street, which sold in the $3 million range. This lot was purchased in 2005 for $1,200,000, showing, once again, that current post-crash prices are approximately the same as 2005/2006 values. If this sale is representative of current land values, a hypothetical 4,000-square-foot home built on this lot for $400 per square foot, with pool, driveway and landscape cost of $250,000, might be worth around $3 million today.
This 5,000-square-foot house was built on speculation in 2005. The house is located in the center of North Haven, in the attractive but remote North Haven Point subdivision.
The house is a gambrel-style home similar to many others that were built in the same era. It contains five bedrooms, five baths and the details typically included in such houses—gourmet kitchen with stainless appliances and granite countertops, nearby family room, paneled dining room, living room with fireplace, and bathrooms with lots of tile finishes and oversized tubs.
Outside, there is a large gunite pool with patio, stone driveway and tasteful landscaping. The overall appearance of this house and property is lovely, but not unique. Many of these types of homes were built throughout the Hamptons prior to the crash, and because there is a significant inventory of them, sellers of such homes are under pressure from buyers with lots to choose from.
In this case, the seller paid $2,600,000 for this home when it was completed in 2005. While one would expect that today’s post-crash value would be roughly the same, this property dropped more precipitously in value than most following the crash, perhaps because there is a great deal of similar, competing inventory throughout the Hamptons, and because of the property’s significant distance from the nearest beach and village center.
27east on Jan 17, 2011