Christie Brinkley Hawking Hamptons House for $15.75M

What would Jay Gatsby say?

(NEWSER) - Even crème de la crème communities are curdling in the current crisis, reports the Telegraph. Take the Hamptons, where nearly as many homes were being foreclosed last week as the number of places sold. Residents in the super-affluent towns on Long Island's east end are struggling to meet mortgages or selling off tony homes at fire sale prices. But fear not, as not all amenities have been scrapped—customers at a recent house sale were treated to wine and cheese. More»

Stuyvesant Town project collapses under debt

(NEWSER) - The record-setting sale of a New York residential property for $5.4 billion in 2006 was a deal made at the height of the boom—and it's now a casualty of the collapsed real estate market. Tishman Speyer, the property company that bought the 56-building, 11,000-unit Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town apartment complexes in Manhattan four years ago, is handing the debt-laden property over to creditors, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

(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. More»

Mystery buyer snaps up One57 duplex

(NEWSER) - A mystery buyer has smashed a New York City record by shelling out more than $90 million for a duplex penthouse, reports the New York Times . The 10,923-square-foot property—with 23-foot ceilings—occupies the 89th and 90th floors of One57, a midtown residential building that is still under construction. Gary Barnett, president of Extell Development Company, has declined to reveal the exact price, but says it didn't break the $100 million barrier. More»

Real estate brokers recommending the practice

(NEWSER) - How to snag a coveted New York City apartment? Increasingly, brokers are recommending an unconventional tactic: love letters. The letters are sent along with the offer, and they should include such heartwarming details as the story of how a couple met (just two blocks away, while walking their dogs!), imagined play dates in the neighborhood with future children, or things potential buyers find particularly wonderful about the home in question. "It’s a love letter," one broker tells the New York Times . "Go for the schmaltz." More»