From left: Corcoran’s Carrie Chiang and Sharon Baum, Harald Grant of Sotheby’s International Realty, Corcoran’s Susan Breitenbach and Brown Harris Stevens’ John Burger

[Updated at 5:30 p.m. and 12:00 p.m. on Sept. 12] Top-rated sales teams at Richard Smith’s Realogy empire include the Corcoran Group’s Carrie Chiang and Sharon Baum, both in Manhattan, according to a study by the Wall Street Journal and Real Trends, released yesterday.

Harald Grant of Sotheby’s International Realty in Southampton and Susan Breitenbach of Corcoran in Bridgehampton both ranked highly as individual sales agents.

Breitenbach recently cleaned up at Corcoran’s 2010 East End awards, taking the prize for top sales agent by volume as well as by number of units sold. In fact, based on annual 2010 sales volume, 39 percent of the nation’s top 1,000 real estate agents are affiliated with Smith’s Realogy brands, the study shows. – Katherine Clarke [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]

The historic Southampton Village estate owned by Anne Eisenhower is poised to become one of the priciest sales of the year on the East End, having gone into contract after years on and off the market, brokers told the Wall Street Journal. Eisenhower, the granddaughter of the former president, bought the 12,000-square-foot house and its 10-acre grounds for $5 million during a market downturn in the mid-1990s and most recently listed it for $35 million. [more]

The Water Mill mansion

A 20,000-square-foot behemoth has hit the market in Water Mill for $58.5 million. The mansion, a newly built property listed by Harald Grant, a senior vice presid [more]

From left: Judi Desiderio, Chris Burnside, Susan Breitenbach, Bob Gianos and Harald Grant

While Labor Day weekend on the East End can present many hazards — traffic jams and crowded beaches, for starters — the specter of Hurricane Earl has presented an array of additional problems, especially for agents trying to squeeze in as many s [more]

While Labor Day weekend on the East End can present many hazards — traffic jams and crowded beaches, for starters — the specter of Hurricane Earl has presented an array of additional problems, especially for agents trying to squeeze in as many showings as possible during the last weekend of the summer.
“Flying furniture,” in particular, is a major concern, said Judi Desiderio, CEO of East End-based Town & Country real estate. “You could literally have lounge chairs up in the air and in the pool,” Desiderio said. “That’s a biggie, especially if you’re showing a property on the water.” [more]

Even as the Hamptons real estate market seems to be trending downward, a Southampton property returned to the market this past weekend with a $3 million price increase in the space of one month. The 2,750-square-foot property, at 450 Gin Lane, is on the market for $19.9 million. Harald Grant of Sotheby’s International Realty has the exclusive listing for the four-bedroom, five-bathroom property with views of the ocean and Old Town Pond, according to Streeteasy.com. Grant called the $19.9 million price “ambitious.” But in this market, he said, “people are going to put in for what they think it’s worth anyway.” The property was originally listed in June with Prudential Douglas Elliman for $17 million. The price was increased by 17 percent, from $17 million at the end of June, before being relisted with Sotheby’s this past weekend. According to the listing, the property has room for a 12,000-square-foot home. TRD Comments

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