Settling in on the South Fork

REAL ESTATE • Hamptons Report

With only 209 days until July 4, it’s time to start thinking about summer getaways. For the next three weeks, FOUND checks in on the rental markets in key localities. First up: the Hamptons. 

Another season removed from the I’ll-pay-anything throes of the pandemic, the Hamptons rental market continues to slow. That’s due in part to some East End homeowners’ unwillingness to give up on Covid-era rents, along with another year of soft Wall Street bonuses. But the biggest shift is the continued move to shorter-term rentals.

“When I first entered the real estate business, probably 80% of Hamptons summer rentals were Memorial Day through Labor Day,” Corcoran’s Peter Moore tells FOUND. “Today, full summer rentals are few and far between — the predominance of rentals are for one month or less.” 

Exacerbating that trend is Airbnb and its ilk, something the town of East Hampton is fighting to stop (though it recently lost a court ruling when it sought to subpoena homeowners’ short-term rental histories). Still, if this coming summer is like this past one, there will be shorter-term deals to be had. 

But there’s something about the peace of mind that comes from having a big chunk of your summer sorted before the spring thaw. Here now, three south-of-the-highway Hamptons rentals that caught our eye, each asking $75k for July 2024: 

→ 2749 Montauk Hwy. (Bridgehampton, above) • 4BR/3.5BA, 2930 SF • 1800s barn transformed into modern house, with pool • Listing brokers: Kyle Rosko and Marcy Braun, Douglas Elliman. 

→ 127 Seascape Ln. (Sagaponack) • 3BR/3.5BA, 2500 SF • Shingled home walking distance to Sagg Pond and Sagg Main Beach • Listing brokers: Leslie Hillel and David Tenenbaum, Brown Harris Stevens.  

→ 12 Further Ln. (East Hampton) • 5BR/4BA, 3000 SF • Views across the Maidstone Club golf course to Hook Pond • Listing broker: Bill Williams, Compass.