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$145M Hamptons estate languishes on market amid surging demand

Four years and $30M price cut later, 90 Jule Pond Road still hasn’t sold

90 Jule Pond Drive is on t he market for $145 million (Sotheby’s International Realty)
90 Jule Pond Drive is on t he market for $145 million (Sotheby’s International Realty)

The Hamptons real estate market was red-hot in the past past year, even as the pandemic hammered home sales in New York City. But how much are buyers willing to pay?

A Southampton property has put skyrocketing demand out east to the test with a price tag of $145 million — and if that sounds high, consider that it was once going for $30 million more.

The massive estate at 90 Jule Pond Drive is co-listed by Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty and Bespoke Real Estate at that eye-popping price. It originally hit the market in 2017 at $175 million, making it the most expensive property in the Hamptons at the time. After two years and no takers, its price was chopped to $145 million in June 2019.

Nearly four years later, the price hasn’t budged — and neither has the listing. A representative for Sotheby’s declined to comment; Bespoke did not provide comment prior to publication.

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Demand in the Hamptons surged last year: In the fourth quarter, the number of transactions rose to 803 homes, the highest quarterly total in 15 years, according to a report from Douglas Elliman. Supply, meanwhile, has fried up, with listing inventory sliding from 1,919 homes to 1,745. That’s resulted in bidding wars, with 19 percent of homes sold in the fourth quarter closed at prices above final asking.

And while the median sale price rose to an all-time high of $1.4 million at the end of 2020, the Jule Pond Road property is leaps and bounds beyond that. It remains one of the Hamptons’ priciest homes for sale, possibly surpassed only by 700 Meadow Lane, which is currently asking $175 million. That property hit the market in January.

Other homes with astronomical prices did sell last year. Hedge funder Ken Griffin — himself no stranger to wild real estate purchases — bought Calvin Klein’s onetime compound at 650 Meadow Lane for $84.4 million. The second priciest sale of 2020 was an East Hampton estate that traded for $67 million.

The Jule Pond Road property was originally built in 1957 by Henry Ford II, grandson of the famed automaker, and was known as Fordune. The current owner is Brenda Earl, a former partner at hedge fund Zweig-Dimenna, according to property records. She purchased the property in 2002 for around $22 million.

The property, which is situated on 42 acres, includes a 20,000-square-foot main house with 12 bedrooms, 12 full bathrooms and three partial bathrooms. It also features a swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts, and an outdoor kitchen. Its many indoor amenities include a billiards room and private gym.

The compound is advertised as having the largest ocean frontage in the Hamptons, spanning nearly a quarter mile. The property borders protected and preserved land, adding yet another quarter mile of ocean frontage. Whether all of that is enough to finally draw in a deep-pocketed buyer remains to be seen.

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HamptonsLong IslandSotheby's International RealtySouthampton Village