Hamptons home hunt

Hollywood stars, business execs and media elite look to trade pricey pads, including a $140M estate

Frankel purchased a new home with 2,280 square feet of space.
Frankel purchased a new home with 2,280 square feet of space.

The Hamptons real estate market heated up over the past year with some of the most expensive property ever to come on the market in the wealthy enclave, including an 11-acre Georgica Pond estate asking a whopping $140 million. (The all-time East End record-setter remains a home that earlier sold for $147 million.)  Of course, there was also the usual crop of bold-faced names, including business executives, media moguls, actors, and a bevy of reality television celebrities, who were buying, selling and renovating their pricey Hamptons pads. Here is a look at some of the most notable transactions recorded during past year.

 

 

Buying

Bethenny Frankel
346 Lumber Lane, Bridgehampton
$4.2M

Skinny Girl mogul Bethenny Frankel picked up a five-bedroom house with a gunite pool and guest cottage in Bridgehampton at 346 Lumber Lane earlier this year. Back on the “Real Housewives of New York” after a three-season break, Frankel appears to be on a buying spree after her 2012 divorce from pharmaceutical salesman Jason Hoppy. Last year, she reportedly paid $4.2 million for a two-bedroom condo in Soho that she is now renovating.

On the Market

Chris Whittle
90 Brair Lane, Georgia Pond
$140M

Edison Schools-founder Chris Whittle gets the prize for the priciest Hamptons property currently on the market. His 11-acre Georgica Pond estate, Briar Patch, went up for sale last November for a jaw-dropping $140 million. Its amenities include a 10,000-square-foot main house, a 3,500-square-foot guesthouse, tennis court, pool and spa, plus a listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Brown Harris Stevens has the listing.

Chris Whittle's property includes a 10,000-square-foot main house as well as a four-bedroom guest home.

Chris Whittle’s property includes a 10,000-square-foot main house as well as a four-bedroom guest home.

LuAnne de Lesseps
280 Highland Terrace, Bridgehampton
$8M

“Real Housewives of New York” cast member LuAnn de Lesseps departed the South Fork, selling her Bridgehampton house last fall for a reported $8 million to local builder Joe Farrell of the Farrell Company. Farrell promptly tore down the 6,500-square-foot residence to build a larger home. The asking price for the new home is reportedly $20 million.

De Lesseps’ former home sits on a 2.2-acre site.

De Lesseps’ former home sits on a 2.2-acre site.

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Tina Brown & Harold Evans
158 Dune Road, Quogue
$9.9M

Aprominent pair of Dune Road dwellers, Tina Brown and husband Harold Evans, are trying to sell their Quogue home, on the market since last August. With 3 acres of land, nearly 6,000 square feet of space and 206 feet of oceanfront, the asking price for the shingled home is $9.9 million, chopped down from $12 million. Norma Reynolds of Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing.

Brown and Evans’ home features his-and-her offices.

Brown and Evans’ home features his-and-her offices.

Susan Lucci
20 Dune Road, Quogue Village
$20M

Soap opera diva Susan Lucci put her 11,000-square-foot Dune Road home up for sale last summer for $20 million. It’s still on the market. Lucci and her husband, Helmut Huber, built the house, known as Four Winds, in 1989. Douglas Elliman has the listing. 

Susan Lucci's Four Winds has not been on the market before.

Susan Lucci’s Four Winds has not been on the market before.

Richard Gere
26 Actors Colony Road, North Haven
$47.5M

Hollywood heartthrob Richard Gere is still trying to sell his home, known by the medieval moniker Strong Heart Manor. Last August, he dropped the price tag to $47.5 million, reportedly down from $65 million two years ago. It boasts 19,000 square feet of living space and has 12 bedrooms, 12 baths, a basketball court and a 60-foot heated pool. Douglas Elliman has the listing.

Gere’s home features a tea house on an island in a pond.

Gere’s home features a tea house on an island in a pond.

Sold

Renée Zellweger
30 Egypt Lane, East Hampton
$4.5M

Actress Renée Zellweger unloaded her four-bedroom, beachfront East Hampton house on Egypt Lane, reportedly within a few weeks of its listing last November. The house went for $250,000 over the $4.45 million asking price. Zellweger bought the cozy 2,000-square-foot home for $2.3 million in 2003.

30 Egypt Lane has a new gunite pool.

30 Egypt Lane has a new gunite pool.