What a marvelous, heart warming story. Rich people finding bargain prices on mansions in the mountains. Barf!
2
Gag me w/ a spoon. Age 51 retired financier? "I just had to be here now". How many pension funds did we need to raid to make all this possible? Parasite.
20
I live in a Florida county with a thin veneer of expensive residential (largely part-time) houses along the beach, not quite a southern version of the Hamptons.
Rising sea level has meant higher elevation standards for new construction. As waterfront houses are torn down and replaced, lots of sand gets hauled in. The county government is making some limited moves toward ensuring resiliency against rising sea level, something our new governor seems willing to allow state employees to discuss.
Having wealthy neighbors brings its perks, like the Design Within Reach outlet at I-95, a nice art museum, and professional theater.
Manhattan is panicked about its resiliency plan, but this (storm surge, flooding and sea rise) isn’t an issue in Long Island’s beach communities? Maybe climate change and the number of Wall Street sellers who understand the relationship between interest rates and home values explains the sagging market.
1
As the saying goes, the happiest day of your life is your first day you spend in your new (second) vacation home, which is eventually followed by an even better happiest day of your life, which is the day you sell it.
Some people thrive with 2 homes, while others don’t. The more “stuff” you own, the more that can go wrong. There is more to worry about. It depends on one’s personality, I believe, as to which camp you are in.
And I disagree completely with those who feel it is wrong to have a second home while so many people are struggling to keep up. They don’t realize that the construction and maintenance of that second home employs dozens of working people in the construction and service industries.
11
I spent time in 2011 & 2012 looking at Pacific Coast houses in California & Oregon. I finally found 1 on the Pacific in rural Oregon just across the Columbia River from Washington.
I found a place that I initially called "The Big Brown Blob" which was essentially an abandoned coastal hunting lodge. It had rats, bats & was barely standing in places & waterlogged in others. I found the place, on a little over an acre, in late October of 2012 & we closed in December of that year.
Somehow the fool in me decided I could take this place on in the face of a twenty-seven (27) page Inspection Report. I got up to the house in June of 2013 & started demolishing it. It took 2 years of hard blood, sweat, tears & severe mental & physical stress to turn "The Big Brown Blob" into "Empire House" my last stop on the trail and my alleged "dream house." Due to tolerance issues in the neighbourhood, I decided to sell Empire House without ever really moving in.
The whole fiasco was an exercise in mental and physical breakdown & my loss of faith in anything remotely called a "dream house" or "the American Dream." American Dreams do not exist; there is only American horror.
I read these articles about the Hamptons & I guess I sometimes say to myself, I wish had millions of dollars and lived in the Hamptons, but then reality hits me upside the head & makes me realize that I am glad I am about to close on a 1200 sq. ft. condo hard on Bellingham Bay in the temperate state of Washington
9
@Reggie
I believe your viewpoint is the predominant one of the millennial generation. Home ownership is a hassle they don’t want. They know the numbers, realizing that they are never building up equity, but they don’t care. It’s more than just about the dollars involved
4
@Tony
He spoke of "tolerance issues." He moved to a more tolerant town. Please read articles before unleashing The Snark.
@Nancy <-- I do not think it is snark. Second home is by definition to have a good time away from the first home, "recharge" etc. You may be a person that feels happy staying among improvements he/she introduced with much effort, hassle if you will, or a person who just needs proper surroundings and congenial neighbors, while the memory of hassles only clouds the experience.
The prices in this article are staggering.
My father bought a 980 sqft home with a half acre on one of Amagannsett's 'lanes' in 1991. It was $225K, 5 houses to the farmer's market and shops, and a bike ride to the ocean. He planned to retire in it, but it was a small place. He sold it in 1994 for $450K, eventually moving to upstate NY.
That home was expanded with another 1000 sqfeet, a pool, and is now worth over 3 million.
He must be shocked at these prices up in heaven.
4
Wow, what a lot of cynical comments. Perhaps second home owners don’t deserve lots of sympathy, but don’t expect any here if your housing market suffers a price correction. The irony is most of the commenters are likely global 1%ers. Imagine how the world’s 7.5B 99%ers feel about your good fortune...
7
"Retired 51-year-old 'financier' from Manhattan" buying a SECOND home for $1 million +.
“It had to be here, and it had to be now.”
If ANYTHING perfectly portrays the American Empire in decadent decline, it is the "Norquists'" greed, avarice, and selfishness.
NYT!! How about a "Real Estate" story about a 64-year-old widow who has had her mobile home park sold out from underneath her and is now looking for ANYWHERE to lay her head. I could introduce you to "JOY" who, at 68, lives in a tent on the sidewalk behind the local DMV because that is EXACTLY what happened to her. I am sure that The Nordquists have a spare bedroom in their Second Mansion that, no doubt, they will inhabit for several weeks each year. "
17
@Upwising. So-to you and many others commenting on this story- anyone who can afford an expensive second home is “bad” and “ greedy” and “ evil” to you? At age 57 I bought my dream beach home. I was raised dirt poor, father died when I was 18( he drove a dump truck for $3.35/ hour)- and when he died my mother went to work in a factory making knives at age 57. My summer jobs included cleaning oil wells and shift work in a hot steamy box factory( by shift work I mean going to work at midnight till 8 a.m. while others were at bars). I went to college thru a few scholarships ( because I worked hard in high school) and LOANS( which I paid off myself over 15 long years). I took out the loans -thus I was responsible to pay them off and I did. I graduated from college in a rust belt city at the height of the steel industry collapse when unemployment was at record levels. I got my first job thru interviews( no connections)and luck, worked like a dog for 37 years( missing many family events ), moved my family with young children 9 times( try that sacrifice), and tried to save my money. Vacations were renting a dumpy beach house one week a year- never extravagant. Paid who know how much in taxes- as I should- and donate a lot to charity. My wife builds houses for the poor for a week or more every year. What’s horrible about people like you - and there are millions of you- is you generalize that everyone with some money inherited it, is greedy, and is “ the enemy”.
20
@Gary for every rich person like you there are hundreds who exploited people left and right to get to the top. So statistically speaking: most filthy rich people ARE the enemy.
7
@Gary
I was in LoveLadies this past weekend..looked at a 1.75M home on the lagoon. It was absurdly beautiful....not sure who can afford this 2nd home as I have worked like a dog for 40 years. I know I cannot afford any part of it. LBI used to be a place of beach shacks where the working class went on vacation . Not anymore.
1
This is an article about the Hamptons real estate market. Obviously it was going to cite the experiences of second homeowners. Why so much anger about people who have been fortunate enough to afford a second home? Since when is being successful a bad trait? Not every story in the newspaper has to be about the woes of the world!
55
@michael
"fortunate enough"
I'm sure they worked for it.
14
@William Smith it doesn't matter whether they worked for it, inherited it, or won the lotto!
8
@michael It is just hard to read about this sort of thing when I live in a tiny, old, dysfunctional cramped building and can barely make my ends meet while working two jobs. My anger is as justified as their ostentatious wealth or the Times right to print a story about it. They are fortunate enough to have a second home, I am fortunate enough to have a second job to barely cover my crushing debt.
14
Before( or after) one looks in the Hamptons- look on Long Beach Island NJ( LBI). Easier to get to than the Hamptons, less expensive, great beach vibe, lots and lots of restaurants( more every year), and a much nicer more laid-back clientele. We have been here two years and in just two years the amount of building and new restaurants/bars/shops is amazing. Resale should always be amazing as it draws from nyc, all of NJ, Phila, and even DC and Baltimore. And wherever you are on the island you see water and can WALK to the amazing beaches...
3
@Gary
Shhhhhh! Let's keep it to ourselves!
2
@Lovestocook. Hahahahahaha! I get it! :)
1
wow, a 'financier' was able to buy a second home for over a million, dictating the terms with power and advantage.
We're so happy for Mr/Ms Nordquist's big score on trump's tax reform! It made things easier for people like them.
I'm pretty sure they don't stress about their health care either. Or car repair; any one of a million things they get to ignore because money!!
It takes a dollar to make a dollar. When you don't have a fire hose of dollars like Mr. Nordquist, his finance firm will happily take the dollar you HAD and give it to these already-wealthy. It's trump's delight to help those he wants to impress.
"It had to be here and it had to be now". "I bargained a lot". Boy, it's nice to act on your wants. My neighbor's worn-out car barely keeps running,and there's no bus to his job. His need for a vehicle is like "it has to be here and it has to be now", but we both laugh at his non-options because he's not able to afford even a used car. Did I mention his wife, uninsured, requires treatment for her MS?
Congrats to people who saved $300,000 on a vacation home because they have the money to demand the best. This is America's new gilded age. My neighbor will shoulder the burden, not these people.
17
@deb
You are spot on! Someone should show him the article in today's paper about the need for hospice homes for dying children. The rich and the undeserving disgust me. Their tax break sucks the life out of the rest of us.
5
There are more “Hamptons” that exist. The Hamptons of the Midwest is Northern Michigan, along Lake Michigan and the inland lakes. Traverse City, Petoskey, Charlevoix, etc....More people from the East Coast (and the whole world) are buying up the waterfront property, still for less than the cost to live in Hamptons. With the abundant Great Lakes water and buffered from the effects of global warming, that seems like a better place to invest in the long term. If you don’t mind flying.
2
I spend a lot of time in the Hamptons. It seems that a constant refrain from people who are lucky enough to afford a home there is how awful it is to live in the Hamptons.
4
I think there’s so much anger on here because the people who can afford to buy in this price range are probably benefitting mightily from Trump’s trillion-dollar tax cut. So while they have a surplus to spend on Hamptons homes and other niceties, the federal treasury runs short and the regular people have to suffer with aging infrastructure and other ills that affect our quality of life. To top it off, Republicans in Congress would be only too happy to cut social programs for average citizens so the Hamptons folks could benefit even more.
Meanwhile, a lot of the negative commenters on here are probably paying full freight at tax time since we don’t cheat or don’t have access to complicated tax avoidance schemes. What’s worse, tax avoidance apparently now goes all the way to the top of the federal government and is no longer associated with shame.
The resentment expressed by these posters is fully justified.
32
The tax deduction was simply baked into the price of the house, and now it is not. It's unfortunate for those who purchased at the higher price.
6
Looks like the more steeply discounted properties are the odd contemporaries and upsidedown homes which will always lead the market down and trail the market up. The market here is similar. Good deals can be had for the nontraditional.
4
It looks lonely out there.
3
Wow! So much negativity. People work hard, become successful, and are entitled to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Don't begrudge.
20
I think the resentment comes from the recognition that hard work and success don’t always go together; and that the tax code unfairly favors some people independent of their contribution to society.
5
Part of the problem is that it's just so awful out there now. Who on earth would want it anymore?
Our family loves it out there. I don't get all the negativity. I read these comments and wonder where the sentiment comes from. What exactly is so "awful" about the area?
4
Does anyone remember the wonderful Hamptons black comedy movie, "Weekend at Bernie's"?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekend_at_Bernie's
Oh, that macabre speedboat scene and the mafia girlfriend, "Never Better"!
4
@Meta1
We caught "The Norquists" enjoying life in The Hamptons, completely unaware of what is to come...........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE-nfzcUiPk
Global warming and rising sea levels
makes coastal real estate on the beach much more of a risk.
Storms, flooding, and eventual inundation by the sea.
11
Exactly, David. I sold my FEMA compliant, dream waterfront house in Miami Beach because of rising tides; saltwater contamination of the water table; and the coming “super” hurricanes.
3
I'll get right on making an offer for Mr. Cavett's estate. I wonder if they'd accept $47 million in IOUs? They're as good as cash.
3
@Scott contact Marc Dreier - he can issue some notes to get all the cash needed for financing
The advantages for first home owners in a community of affluent second home owners.
I live on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, approximately 200 feet from the water, actually just behind a small dune.
There are roughly 300 houses in the village and roughly 90 full time residents.
The value of my house is about $300,000.
The remaining houses on the block range from $1,000,000 to $7,000,000.
My taxes are just $3,000 per year.
However, the millage, the tax RATE for the non-residents, is about twice what I pay.
My God, what taxes they must be paying. But, it is their income and their choice.
I am deeply thankful for the absence of second home owners who are gone most of the year and for the subsidy their absence from the area that allows me to live in a wonderful area at a very low cost.
17
At first it seem like these were really high prices... but then I thought about it. Here in booming Silicon Valley, a $1.35 million house is a two-bedroom, two bath condo. It doesn't sit on 1.8 acres, it might have an outdoor patio and a driveway long enough to park on if you're lucky. It might have a fireplace, but it sure won't be 3000+ square feet. So it seems that the tony Hamptons isn't so high-priced after all. Maybe I can 'down size' into a place there when I retire. The mortgage won't be much more than my rent here.
12
@Jim Brokaw
Pretty much this. I was thinking about that same thing as I read this article.
Even in the bedroom communities the prices are staggering. Realistically The Hamptons, which has an international reputation as one of the locations where the global Elite locate their homes... on par with places like Malibu, Montecito, Tiburon, etc....
Is about as cheap as themiddle of the suburbs in San Jose or palo alto or something like that.
The real question is the property tax burden. That is also the question for all these people buying at record highs in the Bay Area. even after they hypothetically pay off their mortgages they'll be spending the equivalent of a normal real estate market rental value on their home every month forever
I can imagine buying a two million-dollar house if I just cashed out my stock from an IPO....
What I cannot imagine is spending $2500 a month in taxes for the next 80 years, and expecting my children to make the economic argument that continuing to spend $2,500 a month is a viable option
6
@Jarl
That level of taxation can be had on properties worth a whole lot less in Metro NY suburbs.
6
Gosh, I guess I'm just a penny pincher at heart. In the early 2000s, I needed a break from living in the D.C. area's summers. Having a school year job, I found a wonderful 1850s, little brick house in a hamlet up in the Adirondack mountains. Yes, it needed a bit of work, which I had done over several summers - but I had this refreshing and delightful escape, in a beautiful spot with crisp mountain air, buying - then ultimately selling - for under $100,000.
16
I found it strange that only Mr. N was pictured in his new home, not his partner Sindhu.
I hope that the people profiled in this article are truly truly happy.
If so, then they truly have it all...
9
@A Unfortunately she was out of the country visiting family when the pictures were taken... and yes, truly happy
1
Wow the comments section of this article is almost a better read than the article itself. Talk about a range of anger! I was lucky enough to have bought my 1500sq modest house 20+ years ago at a price I could afford. It is in a relatively modest area and it gives our family great joy to be there. We do not dress up, we do not put tents up in our backyard and have parties and we know nothing about polo. The area is just beautiful and we know the best times to travel to and from. Oh and we have a normal car too. The light is magical and we love the bay and ocean beaches. Produce is glorious and there is lots to do year round. Our dog loves it too and she does not wear a diamond collar. We know people with lots of money and we know people with less than lots of money. Lighten up everyone. Like everything else, there is a range of everything. Will climate change do us in? I hope not but wow it seems some readers would love us to get flooded out. PS - Most homes are not on the ocean or bay. Maybe the Times should do a story on other types of homes. Oh wait, that would not get people angry. Our big Hamptons splurge? Round Swamp Farm. What's that you ask? Buy a house out East and find out? Just kidding. Relax everyone.
37
Couldn't agree with you more. It's a wonderful area.
1
I got as far as "Mr. Nordquist, 51, a retired financier" (second paragraph) and couldn't read on.
78
@Karen Pure fantasy. I'd rather read this than some of the front page news.
18
One of the questions I have is this: Are the owners/buyers of these multi-million dollar beachfront properties eligible for coverage by the (heavily taxpayer-subsidized) flood insurance? If yes, it's an outrage! People who can buy such estates (usually their second or third home) can also afford insurance that is not backed up by your and my tax dollars.
57
@Pete in Downtown Since subsidized flood insurance only covers $250,000 it is meaningless to these people.
A long story about a couple that needs a 3300 square foot vacation house and has the money to pay for it. Oh my, their struggle to find was such a epic journey! A heated swimming pool for when the water dips below body temperature, I’m so glad they won’t have to suffer through a chilly dip after all they’ve been through.
68
@Paulie this is the Real Estate section. you seem lost.
I weep crocodile tears for them!
18
I believe I can state with confidence that a 51 year old man will see most of the Hamptons destroyed in his lifetime due to climate change.
Enjoy it now.
31
@Steve, RN With confidence? I don't deny climate change but what evidence do you have to suggest such statements? You think in 30 years the oceans are going to rise to the point that makes the Hamptons unlivable? You truly are delusional, Steve.
5
@TPey
I have high school classmates who live in the area and they have already had several feet of water in their homes and/or boat houses destroyed in recent storms. We were glad to sell and leave our southern coastal island home to be further inland and at higher elevation after two hurricanes in a short period of time made our center island home surrounded by flooding salt water for several days! It took nearly six months for the storm debris to be cleared away and we were one of the few houses on our street that did not have a tree fall through the roof!
4
I’d bet my paycheck that this will occur. And it will not take 30 years. 5 -10 (outside number)
4
I prefer Cape Cod to the Hamptons. Maybe it is because I am a Bostonian. The Hamptons has become too built up and some of it is honky tonk. I guess is it just a matter of taste.
15
Sorry, I found this obscene. A second home for a retired 51 year old - I'm afraid the article is glorifying everything that's wrong with the US at the moment.
101
I found the $91 million sculpture that Mnuchin's father bought for a client to be insane. At least this purchase will generate some taxes into the muncipality and the renovations will give some work to locals.
1
“Where are you going to get 20 acres with 900 feet of oceanfront and utter privacy with a historic house for that kind of money in the Hamptons? You are not.”
And what’s the elevation above sea level of the Hamptons, or Montauk, again?
Oh yeah. That does explain quite a bit.
12
@ubique
This particular house, profiled some years ago in Architectural Digest, is a MMW masterpiece (rebuilt). It is high on a hill and will not be affected by rising sea levels for hundreds if not thousands of years.
4
But, WSPWSP, if the shore community & infrastructure is destroyed or just not viable, real estate that is inland will also be devalued. It not like the homes left standing will be the new coastline - it doesn’t work that way.
2
@wspwsp
But you may have to take a boat to get to it! Check the elevations of the highways leading to the dream house!
1
Adore 90% of the comments! xox
22
Wow. What a shocker. Real Estate is overrated in the Hamptons. Who knew? Except everybody.
47
Real estate prices are high in California. Property taxes are not.
6
@Bill smith
Existing homeowners keep absurdly low taxes, but new buyers pay through the nose.
6
Parts of the Hamptons are so overcrowded that one has to question the appeal. Add to that the summer traffic jams and interminable delays in Southampton rivaling the LA freeway at rush hour or downtown Manhattan and good grief. The Hamptons are beautiful for sure. So many fond memories. But those days are long gone. It’s a shame.
19
@Peter
So the idea is, "I'm in -- pull up the drawbridge!"
After all, we certainly can't have the riffraff now, can we.
Funny--in researching my genealogy, I learned that an ancestor was an original founder of East Hampton. A major street is named after him: Stephen Hand's Path. Wish we kept the property in the family! But then again, I probably wouldn't like the neighborhood.
13
Similar thought here, ancestor of whale Captain James Loper
Why wouldn't you like it? Most of it is truly laid back. A wonderful place to visit. The side portrayed in the media is such a small part of it. You have to go out of your way to encounter that side first hand.
@Djogba Know that path well! Actually, you can thank the Benson’s, of Bensonhurst fame, for The Hamptons!!!
How nice to be able to afford a second home.
That just took another house of the market for someone who was looking for a first home.
12
@Andrew B Not an issue for people in this price range. I don't see how not buying would help those who aren't in this market.
6
@Andrew B
Your comment could sure apply to those who want to rent long term. At least along the Coast, Airbnb and VRBO have made it really tough for the likes of me.
6
@Andrew B
Perhaps. But the second home market created and creates many jobs as well.
2
Signs of an impending Trump Recession. Wait for it....
28
Oh, dear lord, spare us the articles celebrating the marvelous fortunes of those shopping for a second home at a time when the vast majority of urban Americans can’t come close to affording a first home.
It seems high time for the revived Gothamist to bring back its NYT real estate « hâte reads » feature.
99
Being part of the "regular person" class, I lived for time in the North Fork wine country. I remember one summer season day when I dared go to the grocery store on a Saturday.
Somewhat more crowded than normal, I was berated by older man, wearing his perfectly coordinated beach season wear, who angrily complained to me "Why can't YOU people shop during the week? WE are here on the weekends!?"
144
Wow...awful. Hope you took your time shopping.
43
@Mari
And.... just to be real clear about any identity stuff, I'm as white "all American boy" as you can get.
12
@ImagineMoments he could have brought his weekend stuff WITH him.
17
The reality of climate change and our leaders ignoring it does not make coastal properties attractive anymore. It's a big risk and prices will suffer up and down coast as more people face reality.
31
@kay If so, that means more folks will be able to afford to live near the water. Though if you look at places that have been developed despite sea level rise to date, sometimes the reverse happens -- mandated higher construction costs make homes in areas near the water cost more, not because the demand has lowered, but because the actual cost of building has increased. But also, much of the Hamptons has no real climate change risk (at least not within the next 100 years, even assuming more sea level rise than the very worst projections).
2
Sorry, but most studies I've read stated that a substantial portion of Long Island, including the Hamptons will be under water by 2100. However new research suggests it could happen sooner due to accelerating loss of ice at both poles. New York city should have started building a sea wall ten years ago, and so should have Long Island. Take a look at maps of projected coastal immersion, and you will just about everywhere under water.
12
Even with these price reductions, we still face a tragically large second-homeless population.
213
Week after week we readers are presented with similar stories of how hard, just HARD, it is to find upscale property with good views in or near NYC.
Seems like an ad for real estate companies which are always prominently mentioned and of no interest to most.
45
When I see what $1.35 million US can buy in the Hamptons, I can only conclude that real estate in Toronto is waaaaaaaaaaay over priced!
20
@Richard Gordon
Sure, but to be fair, you have to compare Toronto real estate to Manhattan, the Hamptons to some place like Lake of Bays, and perhaps Great Neck or Scarsdale to Forest Hill.
8
It also doesn't help that upstate has supplanted the Hamptons for the hip and stylish. Last summer I was asked to photograph a Montauk house for a publication. It was one of the coolest, most stylish houses I've ever photographed and the owners were really interesting, connected people. It turns out they had just sold it because they bought a place upstate instead. It seemed really telling that these early adopter tastemakers were decamping for upstate.
It seems to be more of a Brooklyn thing, but I never hear anyone going out to the beach for the weekend. It's always upstate to the country.
23
@Brooklyn Dog Geek
Please, do not redirect the pretentious to upstate NY.
57
@Brooklyn Dog Geek
The more people that take the trek upstate, the better the traffic to the Hamptons will be. We're not all pretentious. We just love the light, ocean, bay, incredible seafood, and seashore scenery which I respectfully point out is simply not available upstate! To each his her her own.
35
@Brooklyn Dog Geek
How's the surf up there in the Catskills?
22
I hope the new owners make sure their hired help are documented.
20
"We wanted privacy" he says ... to the New York Times!
213
The irony!!
14
Has anyone considered that a large portion of the Hamptons will probably be underwater in a decade or so? That would affect my perception of real estate values.
Kathy Balles
Carlisle, MA
57
@Kathryn Balles
And so will parts of Florida,
Manhattan, Boston and anywhere coastal. It's called climate change and until it's appropriately addressed, which will never be possible while the GOP has the power, perception of real estate is the least of our problems.
28
@Grace - "Miami Beach" will soon enough be Miami reef.
Prediction: the taxpayers will be asked to pay for building dikes and seawalls to stop rich people's valuable property from flooding. Nevermind that the politicians backed by those rich people actively ignored and worked against climate change and global warming mitigation for decades... we inland, high-and-dry taxpayers will be asked to pay up to bail out the wealthy, again.
16
Maybe climate change is good after all. The bicoastals will be forced to move inland to flyover country.
5
It will be interesting to see if the $2.2 million dollar house, reduced from $2.9 million, which might be assessed at $1.5 million and then is put on the market for $1.2 million and sells for $900,000 in 2022 is such a great "bargain", especially after its owners have spent $45,000 a year on property taxes. When the Hamptons are full of unsold and unwanted homes, lived in by 55-85 year old financiers in their oversized Ralph Lauren clothes, see how popular the resort city becomes.
31
@Harding Dawson
NY State real estate taxes are insanely high.
Why do the citizens of New York allow it?
3
@BSmith I've always wondered that myself. Were they always super high or have they reached these breathless heights in recent years?
@Hat Trick
NY property taxes seem to increase to cover shortgalls of the state budget.
California had a popular referendum, Called Prop 13, which greatly restricts how much California state taxes can be increased to meet current market value. The result is that people (like older homeowners) who have owned property for a long time pay taxes based more on the original value at which they purchased the property rather than its current market value. My sister who lived in New York was impoverished by her state income taxes after her retirement. She did not want to leave her home in a snall town ouside NYC. So she lived in a very beautiful house with no money. Older Californians who remain in their own homes have much better life styles.
I'll still never be able to afford it.
22
This isn't just about the "1%" and buyers. It's about the sellers of the homes under $1M, who are locals. They've been holding onto their properties for years, maybe decades, living frugally, and nearing retirement or old age. Ready to sell, maybe in need of elder care, they're now met with an increasingly tough market and tax laws. Point being that this small part of the country is a LOT more complicated than most people know.
58
@RDM
I’m sure that is the case among some, and an article about that would be much more interesting, but this article was not that. Thus the reactions.
31
@RDM in 1977 my real estate professor ‘predicted’ a major ‘correction’ in 2020 all over the country - from baby boomers retiring, and the new ‘buyers’ either not interested or not able to afford. Prices in inflation-adjusted terms must get back to levels of about 1998 for the market to be back in sync with long-term trends.
17
@Tamza As someone on the tail-end of Gen X, I’m waiting for rich boomers to trade in their beach houses for (luxury) assisted living. Millennials are broke, so they won’t be buying, which means, Score! Will be monitoring the returns on my $3,000 portfolio till then...
11
After inadequately trying to convey my disgust and sadness in this comment section, all I can really say is...sigh.
47
Really? A long article about the decline of beach house prices that doesn't mention global warming/sea level rise (and resulting floods)?
104
@SHJ This article is about real estate.
5
@Mickela And real estate is not separate from climate reality, which is that the seas are rising, and on the Atlantic seaboard more than anywhere else, due to the Antarctic ice melt. SHJ made a relevant comment. The real estate section of the Times should not ignore the impending sunny day flooding, and the tax payers who will have to compensate these rich people for buying overpriced second and third homes on a barrier island.
43
The super rich are such bargain hunters. Who knew?
99
@Joe B. - They are following the example of the Grifter-In-Chief, who uses the ultimate bargaining ploy. Once you've done the deal, and delivered your goods, then he 'bargains' by making you sue to get paid. If he runs the legal bills up high enough, you'll settle for less, literally.
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@Joe B.
that's right he " negotiated hard "
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@Joe B. That’s the secret to their (multi-hundred million) success!
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Thank you NYT, but we knew already that you consider the 1% to be your target audience.
We, the others, are eating the crumbs from their cakes.
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Oh the tears.
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Might global warming and fear of hurricanes and destruction factor into this picture? Anyone who is buying/selling please respond.
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Buying in the Hamptons may not be a problem but getting to it is.
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Just another example of why taxes should go up for these people.
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@georgiadem
why? Are you any worse off that they have a second home? There's lots of places in this country that aren't expensive. You might be able to afford two homes if you move. Don't covet your neighbor is good advice.
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@Peter, yes we are. $10M multiplied a few thousand times is REAL MONEY and it could have been used for something far more useful than this.
To give you some context: in 2015 Congress argued FOR MONTHS over a mere $8 billion for food stamps.
And of course, the story is only about one area in one state. Multiply it by similar areas in all 50 states and you are talking about money equivalent to what we spend annually on homeland security, Medicaid or interest on the national debt.
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@georgiadem, other responses are just excuses. People can justify anything.
It's like the billionaires that live in CA and WA. There are hundreds of thousands of homeless in those states but hey none of them can be bothered to do anything about it.
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Thanks for a long due story on the one percenters. I felt they have been unrepresented in this paper. I am sending them my thoughts and prayers.
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Lol!
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@Steve
I, too, like keeping an eye on how the tippy tops are coming along, here in the Paper of Record. Looks like a tiny bit of fretting is in order.
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@Ellen - Hold on, let me find my microscope and maybe I can find a tiny bit of 'caring' for the plight of the 1%. Still looking...
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The difference between what a house is listed for and what it sells for doesn’t represent a “softening” or “ reduction”. It is worth what it sells for; the listing price is fantasy. Everyone wants more, more, more...
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@MD Monroe
The “value” of a property is determined by and defined as what someone is willing to pay you for it when you want to sell it.
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How unfortunate that this article is positioned directly below an article that addresses the challenges of finding funding for hospice and respite care for dying children. The subjects of this article are entitled to celebrate their successful bargain hunting if they want, but how ironic to see the urgency of "It had to be here, and it had to be now” applied to a luxury vacation home. I suspect the families in the other article might have a different view of what real urgency is.
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@KWH-Agreed, but you have to give the NY Times credit, they cover the good, the bad and the ugly.
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@KWH Great observation.
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@KWH
Hmmm.. I'm getting the feeling the placement of the two articles was more than just a coincidence.
Similar to the placement of the Jack Dorsey Twitter article the same day another article nearby talked about students starving to death in college.
WHY would anyone agree to be featured in one of these articles, and open their lives to public ridicule?
I've been in these homes when they've been empty and unsellable and on the market for a few years - it is the creepiest feeling.
The lack of love oozes from every crack.
Read this article instead.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/15/magazine/child-hospice.html?action=click&module=Editors%20Picks&pgtype=Homepage
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Another factor driving down East End prices are the growth of AirBnB and VRBO rentals. These are leading to a much softer seasonal, weekly and monthly rental market and leaving homeowners fewer attractive opportunities to rent their homes for part of the to and cover some of their costs.
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@Steve
If you need a summer rental income to help carry a second home you should not buy the house. You can’t afford it.
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Many people who can afford to carry the house do rent...
Save for a Swiftian satire about lives and things that don't matter for most human beings, the exaggerated deployment of statistics showing this "important" hot of the presses change, properly signals the real target audience.
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Brilliant
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