Beach-side condos boom in the Hamptons

People are increasingly interested in buying a condo in the Hamptons instead of the luxurious beach houses the area is known for — and developers are taking note.

New condo developments are cropping up in the area with better amenities on offer to residents and little housekeeping required, which residents love, according to Mansion Global.

“It’s a part of the market out here that people don’t usually think about, but people are starting to think about it,” said Corcoran’s Mary Slattery to Mansion Global.

The data backs her up: the record for fastest condo sales belongs to the Hamptons as of last quarter with time on the market going from five months last year to three months. Overall, the Hamptons’ condo sales increased by 40 percent.

What initially drove condo developments in the area was the relatively low prices of a condo in comparison to the cost of a house, which goes for a median price of about $5.6 million. At the Bishops Pond development, for example, condo units sold for between about $2 to $3 million in 2013, however, now prices are rising as demand increases.

Fairfield Properties’ condos at Southampton Pointe, which opened in 2009, have seen prices increase four times over from $400,000 to around $1.2 million over the past eight years.

“There is this trend in luxury lifestyle, they are trading size for convenience,” Douglas Elliman’s Carl Benincasa told Mansion Global.

[Mansion Global] — E.K. Hudson