Selling A Lifestyle, And A House

Showcasing million-dollar homes in the Hamptons is about selling a lifestyle, and some open houses are a little more unique than others. Corcoran broker Gary DePersia teamed up with Bradford Rand, president of event-production company RAND Luxury, to create an open house for high-end consumers who are treated like royalty.

On July 18, they unveiled a newly built 7,000-square-foot home on Deerfield Road in Water Mill that has an ask of $6.495 million. Sitting on 2 acres, the home is next to a 32-acre reserve, which is privately owned by Charlie Marder, of Marder’s nursery. There are 7 bedrooms, 10 baths, a finished basement with a movie theater, gym and staff quarters, a 3-car garage, pool and a sunken tennis court.

Mr. DePersia and Mr. Rand invited a select group to this open house brunch, which celebrated a life of luxury.

“This is like a bionic open house, or an open house on steroids, because there’s many reasons for a person or prospective buyer to come,” said Mr. Rand at the event. “If you just go to an open house with some flowers, some warm cookies and some white wine, eh, not really exciting. It’s just another open house. What I do with Gary is we try to make it an event to showcase the house” and bring along complementary sponsors, such as Aston Martin, which invited their qualified buyers. “Anyone who can afford a $280,000 car can probably afford this house and probably wants the finer things in life,” Mr. Rand said.

Guests could sit in—but not test drive—the latest models from Aston Martin. They could also meander out back and enjoy hors d’oeuvres, signature cocktails, champagne or scotch while classical music played on loudspeakers. There were booths set up for anyone interested in learning more about private aviation, fine guitars by C.F. Martin & Co., which had a $24,000 guitar with pearl inlay on display, or Sharp electronics. There was even a Las Vegas casino-style blackjack table, along with some high rollers who had been invited.

In total, about 350 people attended.

A house like this would fetch a lot more if it were south of the highway and close to the ocean. But since it is north of the highway, a prospective buyer is getting more bang for his or her buck, noted Mr. DePersia. “North of the highway is catching up very quickly,” he said, however. “It’s never going to be the same price, but it’s catching up.”