Hamptons house hunters: If you can’t buy, build?

Buying a home in the Hamptons is an expensive proposition. Is building one any more affordable?

Amanda Brezing decided to test the theory after she started looking for a summer home in 2017. The Manhattan finance worker ultimately decided to design and build her own home, beginning a five-year journey detailed in the New York Times.

First, Brezing had to find a lot to build on. In August 2018, she purchased a half-acre lot in Springs, a hamlet of East Hampton, for $337,500.

Brezing then had to go about finding an architect to design the home. On the lot, which abutted a nature preserve, she envisioned a property with built-in privacy, along with indoor and outdoor spaces for plenty of room for entertaining.

She brought in Oza Sabbeth Architects for the job, which would also employ the firm’s own construction arm, Modern Green Home. The firm concocted a 3,000-square-foot design with three connected components surrounding open outdoor space.

One holds several guest rooms, while another has the garage and the final one has living room, dining room, kitchen and primary suite. Outside, a long pergola stretches out to an outdoor dining area with a fireplace.

The project started in the fall of 2019, but wasn’t completed until this past January due to pandemic-related delays. Brezing used a construction loan to pay for much of the building.

Construction cost roughly $800 per square foot, adding up to roughly $2.4 million. While there are other costs to consider — such as the price of the furniture Brezing is buying or renting — the construction and acquisition costs totaled roughly $2.74 million.

Read more

Tri-State

Hamptons listings gain, but inventory still scarce and sales brisk

New York

Brothers list the East Hampton farmhouse built by their great-grandfather

So how did Brezing’s ground-up mission stack up in comparison to the Hamptons housing market? While a straight-line comparison is near impossible, Hamptons Market Data show the median sales price in the Hamptons last month was $2.2 million.

While there’s a difference of more than $500,000, some extra costs are likely expected on the road to getting a home to match individual specifications.

Brezing embarked on the project around the same time construction costs started to bloat, and those considering a similar adventure of their own should note the increasingly expensive conditions facing their projects.

In May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer price indexes showed prices for building materials were up 19.2 percent year over year, after rising 35.6 percent since the start of the pandemic.

The rising costs have been exacerbated by labor issues and supply chain shortages. In the Hamptons, New Yorkers who fled the city in the wake of the pandemic pounced on new construction and remodelings, setting off a surge in construction activity and costs in the area last year.

— Holden Walter-Warner