Economic Downturn or Killer Tornado?
The Hamptons real estate market really sucks at the moment, as you may have heard. According to stats guru Jonathan Miller, the number of unsold homes on the East End rose 15 percent during the first quarter while the median price of a house dropped 23.5 percent compared to a year earlier. One brokerage firm reports that sales of Hamptons homes have plunged by 67 percent during the first three months of 2009. But Michael Daly, the founder of North Haven's True North Realty, is keeping it all in perspective:
This isn't like your typical Nor'easter where a tree falls and your lights flicker... This is more like a Katrina.
It sure is! Oh, well, except for the fact that 2,000 people haven't been found floating face-down in their swimming pools just yet. But we get the idea (and the summer is only beginning), so we'll move along.
And as a public service message, we'll point out that Dick Fuld is hardly the only former top Lehman exec currently looking to sell a little property and raise a little cash. The Bridgehampton home of Joe Gregory, the firm's former president, is still on the market. And he's lowered the price by nearly $5 million since we last checked in on him. It's now down to $27.9 million. But wait a couple of months and you should be able to get both Gregory's Hamptons home and Fuld's Park Avenue apartment for the price of one.
Hamptons Homes Drop Most Since Realtors Kept Records [Bloomberg]
Previously: Dick & Kathy Fuld: 'What Recession?