Bridgehampton’s 11.5-acre Sandcastle estate, which rented for a mammoth $500,000 for a two-week summer stay last year, is back on the rental market and asking the same again, Newsday reported.

“That’s what I got last year, and I turned down seven people,” said owner, Hamptons builder Joe Farrell. “It’s in huge demand.”

Farrell, who constructed the 31,000-square-foot home for his family, complete with bowling alley, skateboarding half-pipe, rock-climbing wall, virtual golf and a media room, successfully rented the property in 2010 to Cheryl Mercuris, a 40-year-old divorcée from Tampa, Fla., who made her own fortune in direct marketing, the New York Post reported at the time.  [more]

Stuart ElliottFrom the June issue: It’s that time of year again — time to escape the city and head to the beach. Time to trade your pumps and wingtips for flip-flops and sandals. Time to trade fluorescent office lighting for the sun beating down on your back. Time to reserve lunch tables for lobster roll shacks, get pieces of corn stuck between your teeth, and wash it all down with a beer.
With summer season in the Hamptons kicking into gear, we thought, “What better time to take a look at the biggest firms and priciest deals on the East End?”
Unlike those caught up in the migration from Manhattan, it hasn’t been vacation time for top agents out there on Long Island. In an improving market, they’ve been listing and closing deals with big seven- and eight-figure price tags. [more]

Corcoran agent Charlotte DePersia and an image from the accident provided to The Real Deal

Charlotte DePersia, one half of a one-time prominent East End brokerage power couple, was arrested late Saturday night on charges of driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, according to a felony complaint filed in Southampton criminal court yesterday.

DePersia, 57, reportedly swerved into the right lane of traffic on Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton near midnight, according to a source who witnessed the crash. DePersia allegedly struck the driver’s side of a BMW in the adjacent lane. DePersia had “slurred speech and strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath,” according to the complaint, and was “unsteady on her feet.” On the night of the collision, DePersia allegedly said to officers: “I had an accident. I hit the other car; I hope I didn’t hurt anyone in the other car.” [more]

From left: real estate agent Jay Flagg; Elliman chairman Howard Lorber; Jill Fleming, a partner at Long Island advertising agency blumenfeld + fleming; Corcoran Senior Vice President Gary DePersia; and Burke Smith, a real estate broker and founder of YourNetCoach

It’s a ruckus fit for “Mad Men”: a top Prudential Douglas Elliman manager was demoted in June after running a magazine advertisement he was told didn’t conform to [more]

25 Rawson Road

From the March issue: Every year, Hamptons broker Jane Gill gets a call from the same Wall Street trader, looking for a summer rental with a fenced-in yard, an acre of property and a garage for his Ferrari. He always calls at the last minute, usually around Memorial Day, hoping to get a good deal: a $200,000 property for about $75,000.

“He works with every broker,” said Gill, a vice president at Saunders & Associates in Bridgehampton. “Last year, I showed him a few things, and then I lost contact with him. I assume he found something.”

He may not find it so easy this year, however. Brokers say that while last year many renters waited until the eleventh hour, they have been receiving calls from interested renters over the last month, and some of the most exclusive properties have already been picked up.  [more]

A selection of the honorees, from left: Evan Kulman, Gene Stilwell, Susan Breitenbach, Sheri Winter Clarry, and Thomas Mangel

The Corcoran Group has released its 2009 annual list of the top performing agents on the East End, with Evan Kulman and Gene Stilwell, who had marketed the house designed by former Christie Brinkley husband Peter Cook last year, winning the designation of top company team of 2009. The two have garnered honors from Corcoran jointly and individually in the past — in 2006, Stilwell was named top Bridgehampton sales person of the year, while the duo were named the second-place team on the East End in 2008. Sheri Winter Clarry had the top deal in the North Fork and was named the top producer of the year in that market. Susan Breitenbach, who had the top deal in the South Fork, was named the top producing agent in Bridgehampton. Breitenbach has repeatedly nailed top spots in Corcoran’s yearly rankings, including top sales agent in the East End in 2007 and top exclusive agent in 2008. Other awards, including the top commercial sales agent designation and the rookie of the year honor, went to Thomas Mangel of the Westhampton Beach office and Ling Li of the Amagansett office, respectively. Gary DePersia, meanwhile, was named top producer of the year in East Hampton. TRD [more]

The Corcoran Group’s Gary DePersia was arrested April 25 in Montauk and charged with a DWI, according to police. Driving a blue 2007 Porsche, DePersia was stopped on Route 27 near Old
West Lake Drive for speeding, driving on the shoulder of the road and
crossing a double yellow line, the police report and other official
documents show. Police said 60-year-old DePersia, Corcoran’s East Hampton top producer in 2008,
“performed poorly” on all field sobriety tests. “There was a strong
odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath,” the report says, “his
speech was slurred, he was unsteady on his feet and his eyes were
bloodshot and glassy.” [more]