The designer Elie Tahari and his son sold the building at 1 Main Street in East Hampton for $22 million on March 31.While residential real estate has slowed from the feverish pace of the COVID-19 pandemic, commercial sales have been making headlines in recent weeks.$22 million last month
Last summer, the village saw several new, high-end designer boutiques, including Valentino, Chanel and Prada, open. The commercial market is active thanks to the “pandemic exodus from the city” that created a more year-round environment, thus giving a boost to restaurants and retail, says Lee Minetree, a broker at Saunders & Associates.
Real estate that houses retail establishments has experienced a bit of a slowdown due to interest rate rises, according to Zwick, adding that hospitality, industrial and restaurant real estate has been strong. Affluent and high-net-worth investors still gravitate here, of course. “The demand and exclusivity of the area have appreciated the assets in the village, bringing higher rent prices and sales prices.”
Others see opportunity. “Sellers are saving deals in the face of this financial … whatever you want to call it … by allowing, accepting seller financing, seller mortgages,” Sztorc adds. in what was briefly called Sunrise Beach Hotel in Montauk Harbor. It will reopen this summer as Sunset Montauk. The deal closed in December.
The hospitality market is also lacking inventory as many properties have traded in recent years, such as the Bentley Hotel and thein Southampton, the Wainscott Inn in Sagapoanck and, most recently, the Montauk Yacht Club.