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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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 GLOSSIES 
7

Hamptons Grim, But Not Dead

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(Newser) – The Hamptons are not a happy place these days, Michael Shnayerson writes in a Vanity Fair piece detailing fortunes destroyed, plans dashed, homes selling for bargain basement prices. The stink of the financial crisis in general, and Bernard Madoff especially, has descended on the oceanfront playground of New York’s elite. But there are signs the region is merely down, not out.

Yes, real-estate negotiations tend to start at 25% below the asking price. Yes, many builders are in dire straits. And yes, the homes of Bear Stearns executives, Madoff victims and other suddenly broke ex-titans line the waterfront. But tales of flashy speculators buying homes for 50% below asking price turn out to be urban legends, and some mansions are still being built—often over other, bulldozed properties.

An oceanfront property, for rent for $350,000 for the summer season, is seen in Amagansett, NY.
An oceanfront property, for rent for $350,000 for the summer season, is seen in Amagansett, NY.   (Town & Country Real Estate)
In this May 15, 2009, photo, an ocean-side beach house with a swimming pool is shown in Wainscott, NY.
In this May 15, 2009, photo, an ocean-side beach house with a swimming pool is shown in Wainscott, NY.   (AP Photo)
In this May 15, 2009, photo, a new home in East Hampton, NY, selling for $39 million, is shown.
In this May 15, 2009, photo, a new home in East Hampton, NY, selling for $39 million, is shown.   (AP Photo)
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7 comments
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Observer
Jun 9, 09 4:55 PM CDT
Sad to see the millionaire crooks suffering so. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
RobN
Jun 9, 09 5:08 PM CDT
Must be nice to sit in your tiny dark little apartment and believe that other people only get ahead by cheating. It couldn't be that they are smarter and work harder than you.
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IN RESPONSE:
Nagual
Jun 9, 09 5:54 PM CDT
Only to find out.. that it doesn't really matter. Someday, perhaps.
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kokuaguy
Jun 9, 09 6:46 PM CDT
RobN-- Observer's generalization about the wealthy in this part of America probably has as much or more empirical substance behind it as your insensitive comment about him and his circumstances. I guess you read minds, as well as seeing through walls and into souls with that super-power vision of yours. Many do work hard for their money (as often as not by exploiting the labor of others in the process.) Almost invariably they pass on their wealth to their offspring, so believe it or not. all the millionaires occupying those beach front properties may not be quite so much morally and intellectually superior to the masses as you imagine they (and you) are. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
RobN
Jun 9, 09 7:01 PM CDT
I didn't say they were all paragons of virtue and hard work. It is Observer who is generalizing by lumping them all together as crooks. I'm sick of the assumptions that people who have gotten ahead have done it on the backs of others or by stealing. As an employer, I pay a fair wage and I take all the risk. My employees get paid whether I make any money on a project, I do not. Taking that risk is how the small businesses in this country get started and turn into something bigger. The old class warfare routine may make you feel better, but it doesn't create any jobs or prosperity. You'll also have to excuse me if I don't take your admonishment about my insensitive comment very seriously; after all it comes from somebody who spends half their time on Newser calling people idiots and morons.
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