Before the Hamptons season, fewer celebrity deals

It hasn’t been a particularly busy offseason for celebrities in the Hamptons. Actors, artists, athletes and other stars appeared to favor the West Coast or Florida for their real estate purchases, and so the number of big names attached to notable deals on the East End looks leaner than usual. 

Still, there were some well-known people making transactions, and the seasonal market is just beginning to heat up now, so there’s still time for them to arrive.

Here’s a look at what some celebrities have bought, sold and listed in the Hamptons in the stretch between Labor Day and Memorial Day.

Who’s buying

In December, Billy Joel decided he was moving into a five-acre, 3,500-square-foot home at 143 Town Lane in East Hampton, paying $10.7 million for the abode, according to the New York Post. The famous singer — who also owns a summer home in Sag Harbor — might have picked up the place for its high-level equestrian facilities. His wife, Alexis Roderick, is accomplished in the sport. He followed up with a second purchase in late May of an estate at 143 Town Lane in East Hampton the New York Post reported.

Who’s selling

Shortly after Labor Day, it emerged that Peloton founder John Foley quietly sold his estate at 442 Further Lane in East Hampton the previous spring for $51 million. That was $4 million less than Foley and his wife paid to purchase the property a little more than a year earlier.

Aida Turturro, best known for playing one of Tony’s sisters on “The Sopranos,” listed her home at 8 South Genesee Court in Montauk last winter for nearly $2 million, Realtor.com reported. The property ultimately sold in mid-April for $1.8 million.

Famed architect Thierry Despont died last year, leading to the listing of his 34-acre property at 320 Majors Path in Southampton. It had been listed for $23.5 million in Despont’s lifetime and $20 million two months after his death. The home was on the market for $18.4 million when a contract was recently signed for the property.

Who’s listing

Actor Alec Baldwin has been looking to sell his 10-acre home at 335 Town Lane in Amagansett for nearly two years, working through a series of price cuts that haven’t moved a buyer to buy. This January, however, brought another price cut down to $19 million along with a surreal two-minute video that stars Baldwin as the property’s pitch person. 

Developer Harry Macklowe is looking to sell his East Hampton home at 64 West End Avenue for $38 million, only a few years after purchasing it for $10.4 million in 2017 as a place where he and his then-girlfriend, now wife, could live during Macklowe’s high-profile divorce. The listing came up in February, but a complication quickly emerged: The estate is not legally habitable due to a lack of a certificate of occupancy.

Also in February, Rick and Kathy Hilton listed their Southampton home at 9 Fordune Drive for $15 million a quarter-century after they bought the place as a vacation home for $2.4 million. The Hiltons are largely based on the West Coast these days, reducing their need for a home in the Hamptons.

In May, actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore listed her Sagaponack estate at 16 Old Barn Lane for $8.5 million, the New York Post first reported. Barrymore purchased the farmhouse in 2019 for $5.5 million before remodeling it with more modern flair. She found a buyer only three weeks after listing the estate, the New York Post reported. The deal has yet to close, so the buyer’s identity and the purchase price are unclear.