Hamptons summer rental hit $1M

A Hamptons waterfront luxury rental for Memorial Day to Labor Day hit $1 million this season, a record.

The Southampton house was rented through Harald Grant, senior vice president at Sotheby's International Realty in Southampton. He declined to say where the house was or who rented it.

While brokers working on such tony deals can be tight-lipped, the $1 million summer rental shattered the previous record high of $550,000 for a summer rental. Russian aluminum heiress Anna Anisimova shelled out that sum in 2004 for the Southampton mansion of socialite/songwriter Denise Rich.

"That's what people are paying," Grant said. "Oceanfront rentals, waterfront rentals command these huge prices."

He said the record-breaking house is one of three major waterfront properties loaded with amenities that commanded huge sums this year. Grant rented another house in Southampton that fetched $900,000 for the summer, while a luxurious two-week rental fetched $150,000.

He chalks up the trend to the economics of renting versus owning such rarefied properties. Buying a waterfront home with multiple bedrooms and baths, a tennis court, spa, pool and the latest high-tech toys can mean spending $35 million to $40 million. That kind of expenditure, though, often ties up a large percentage of the buyer's net worth for a second house.

The most luxurious Hamptons rentals racked up strong results this year, after three lackluster seasons. Jay Flagg, Prudential Douglas Elliman's Southampton branch manager, says his office did a one-month rental for about $250,000 on Foster Crossing in Southampton. Gary DePersia, senior vice president at Corcoran in East Hampton, says he handled nearly $4 million worth of rentals, a higher figure than last year. He rented one house for $340,000 for the summer to a hedge fund executive from New York, who renewed for next year at a slightly higher price.

"Now it's settled in as, OK, we have a new ceiling," says Judi Desiderio, CEO of Town & Country Real Estate in East Hampton. By Catherine Curan