Long Island Cheat Sheet: Rents rise across LI as high-end supply trails demand … & more

Rents rise across LI as high-end supply trails demand
Long Island’s newest and nicest apartments are being snapped up by young professionals and well-off people without children, thereby driving up the prices of the high-end rentals, Newsday reported. In Nassau County, the average rent for a units in multifamily buildings was $2,257 in the first quarter — that’s up 3.2 percent from a year ago and nearly 30 percent from five years earlier, according to a report real estate market research company Reis. Suffolk County saw similar increases. Long Island’s rental vacancy rate is at 2.9 percent, half the national rate of 5.9 percent. Developers are trying to meet demand, but units are still snapped up extremely quickly, experts said. Nearly 13,000 units have been approved for construction over the last 12 years and more than half of those have been construction according to Newsday. Another 10,000 rental units are in the approvals and construction pipeline.[Newsday]

Composer John Philip Sousa’s former waterfront home Sands Point lists for $9.85M
The onetime home of composer John Philip Sousa has hit the market for $9.85 million, Newsday reported. The 6,000-square-foot home, dubbed Wildbank, has six bedrooms, five-and-a-half bathrooms, two wine cellars, a beach, a deep-water dock, a four-car garage, a tennis court and a view of the New York City skyline. Sousa lived at Wildbank, which is a historic landmark, from 1915 to 1932. Maggie Keats of Douglas Elliman Real Estate is handling the listing. [Newsday]

East Hampton hotel sells for $5M
After renovating the 1.1-acre property at 490 Pantigo Road under a lease agreement, Manhattan-based Bridgeton Holdings went all-in with the $5-million-dollar purchase of the hotel they christened as Journey East Hampton. It was formerly known as the Inn at East Hampton. Inbar Mitzman, Lisa Ferraro and Dana Forbes of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty represented both sides of the deal, Long Island Business News reported. With 22 rooms and 3 cottages, the hotel now rents suites for an average of $750 on a weekday night. [LIBN]

Cracker Barrel could be coming to Commack
Two national construction companies that have built locations for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store have requested bids from subcontractors for a restaurant in Commack. Some believe this could mean that the popular restaurant chain plans to open its first Long Island location. A similar rumor circulated and was quickly denied by the company in 2015. Regarding the recent rumors, a company representative said they had no news to announce at this time. The invitation to bid for electrical work, from Georgia-based Venture Construction Co. states that the building is 9,170 square feet with a 1,316-square-foot porch. The other company seeking bids is Ideal Co. of Ohio. Venture’s filing declares the building will be a Cracker Barrel, but Newsday turned up no records mentioning the chain with the The Town of Smithtown Assessor’s Office or Board of Zoning Appeals. [Newsday]

Queens shirt maker to move after buying Islandia industrial building
Bowe Industries, which makes T-shirts and also operates under the name Changes, bought a 36,750-square-foot building in Islandia for $4.5 million, Long Island Business News reported. The company, which was founded in 1974, plans to move its primary plant from Glendale to the building. It also has outposts in England and Canada. Bowe has licenses to make shirts for brands like GoodFellas, Alien, The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy among others. Ralph Perna of Newmark Knight Frank represented both Bowe and the seller. [LIBN]