Back in vogue in the Hamptons: Full-summer rentals

The Hamptons rental market is in full swing, with a growing number of vacationers booking lavish homes for the entire summer, brokers said.

The “sweet spot” for the Hamptons summer rental market is $150,000 to $250,000, but some homes fetch far more, said Christopher Burnside, an associate broker with Brown Harris Stevens in Bridgehampton.

With demand ebbing for homes listed for sale at about $10 million or more, the rental market is getting a boost from affluent families who opt to rent instead of buy.

In one instance, a couple with three children and a nanny initially aimed to buy a vacation home for up to $20 million, Burnside said. But when they didn’t fall in love with any of the homes they toured, they decided instead to book the full summer in a six-bedroom estate with a pool, tennis court and dock on Mecox Bay in Water Mill, for $500,000. The father, who works in finance, said, “I’d rather rent for half a million than shell out $20 million for something I don’t like,” Burnside recalled.

One Hamptons rental website, hreo.com, features eight homes renting for $1 million or more for the full season, including a nine-bedroom estate listed at $2.5 million from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

During the financial crisis — particularly in 2008, as stocks plunged, debt markets dried up and financial firms such as Lehman Brothers collapsed — vacationers scaled back, booking rentals for a month instead of a full season, said Judi Desiderio, chief executive of East Hampton-based Town & Country Real Estate. That has changed as investors have regained confidence in recent years, with more affluent families committing to an entire season, she said.

A four- or five-bedroom home might fetch $50,000 for Aug. 1 through Labor Day, or $100,000 for the full summer, and many vacationers decide it makes financial sense to go all-in, she said.

“To get the full season, it’s not really that much more,” she said. “You’re getting three times the amount of time for twice the amount of money.”

By Maura McDermott

maura.mcdermott@newsday.commauramcdermott

Maura McDermott covers education. Since joining Newsday in 2012, she also has worked on the investigations team and covered real estate and the business of health care.