With the arrival of 2024, let’s take a look back at the year that was in real estate. Even with the market slowing down, there were still some extraordinarily expensive sales in 2023. In fact, the priciest sale of the year at $112.5 million for a single property far surpassed the biggest sale of 2022, which topped out at $84.5 million.
Check out which transactions made the top 10 list of confirmed sales as of Jan. 9, 2024. Hedges will update our list online if the Suffolk County deed transfers later reveal any other sales closed that fit the top 10 biggest sales of the year.
The top 10 priciest Hamptons real estate in 2023:
1) 700 Meadow Lane, Southampton | $112.5 million
This fall, the sale of Southampton’s Mylestone at Meadow Lane became the priciest sale of the year in the Hamptons. After approximately two years on the market as the most expensive real estate on the market, asking as much as $175 million at one point, the oceanfront mega mansion sold on October 26.
Located on what is known as Billionaires Row, the 15,000-plus-square-foot residence was owned by former advertising executive and philanthropist Marcia Riklis. The home is situated behind two gated entrances on quiet streets in the prestigious estate section, just minutes from shopping and dining in Southampton Village and the area’s most coveted beaches.
The modern Tudor-style mansion enjoys 500 feet of ocean frontage with a private boardwalk and unobstructed panoramic water views of the Atlantic Ocean and Shinnecock Bay. A private pathway across Meadow Lane leads to a deepwater dock that allows for direct water access for boating and fishing. The home offers 11 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and four half baths, as well as an attached caretaker’s cottage.
Bespoke exclusively represented the seller in the transaction, while Michael Koeneke of Compass repped the buyer, though both declined to comment. The buyer’s identity was shielded by a limited liability corporation called Meerkat LLC. The last ask was $135 million.
2) 32 Windmill Lane and 26 Windmill Lane, East Hampton | $91.5 million
It’s been nearly a year now since an oceanfront compound in East Hampton traded for $91.5 million, ultimately securing the second spot in our list. Even if only the most expensive of the two properties were counted for the top sales countdown, it would still hold its spot on the list.
The properties at 32 Windmill Lane and 26 Windmill Lane in East Hampton sold in two separate transactions — $77,775,000 and $13,725,000 respectively — on Jan. 11, 2023. They traded in an off-market deal, raking in more than double what it sold for just three years ago.
In total, the estate offers 6.7 acres at the end of a private road off of the famed Further Lane. The buyer’s identity was shielded by a limited liability company called Newco Windmill and Newco Windmill 2, both of which were created in September of 2022.
Together, they last sold in April 2020 for $45 million — $37 million for 32 Windmill Lane and $8 million for 26 Windmill Lane. At the time, it was the largest sale on record in the Hamptons since 2016.
Martha Gundersen and Paul Brennan of Douglas Elliman and Valerie Smith and Frank Newbold of Sotheby’s International Realty had the co-exclusive when the property sold in 2020. Gary DePersia repped the buyer and the listing once it went back on the market, though it was removed in 2021. It was unclear who repped the most recent deal.
3) 121 Further Lane, East Hampton | $52 million
Lasata, the East Hampton home where Jackie Kennedy Onassis spent summer vacations as a child, sold on Aug. 11, to the designer Tom Ford, according to The Wall Street Journal. It went on the market in May for $55 million.
The estate last traded in early 2018 when film, television and commercial producer David Zander purchased it for $24 million. Zander was represented by Charles Forsman and James Petrie of Compass and Eileen O’Neill of the Corcoran Group. The buyer was represented by Frank E. Newbold of Sotheby’s International Realty.
Back in May, O’Neill told Behind The Hedges, “Lasata is considered one of our region’s most important and beautiful estates. Under the seller’s stewardship, the home’s interior has been painstakingly updated and enhanced while preserving its remarkable history. It’s an iconic property and truly one-of-a-kind.”
4) 442 Further Lane, Amagansett | $51 million
Peloton co-founder John Foley sold his oceanfront house for $4 million less than he purchased it just two years ago. According to Suffolk County deed transfers, the house sold for $51 million on May 30. That property last traded in early December of 2021 for $55 million — $2.5 million above the asking price at the time and one of the priciest that year. The seller was listed officially as SaltHouse LLC, and the buyer as Further Hampton LLC. It is not clear which brokers were involved in the most recent trade. Hedgerow Exclusive Properties had the listing back in 2021 and put the house into contract in less than 30 days. Catherine Juracich, then with Douglas Elliman and now with Corcoran, brought the buyer. Just three months later, in March of 2022, Foley and his wife, Jill, were reportedly quietly already looking to unload the property.
5) 201 Lily Pond Lane, East Hampton | $45 million
A striking oceanfront home on East Hampton’s prestigious Lily Pond Lane that was listed for $69 million in 2021, sold in November. Known as “Cima Del Mundo,” Spanish for “top of the world,” the home had been listed with Ed Petrie and James Petrie of Compass. The Spanish colonial-style abode sits on 2.7 acres with 400 feet of ocean frontage, situated so it offers views towards Georgica Beach. The eight-bedroom, seven-and-a-half bath home also offers view north across Lily Pond with protected views enhanced by what Compass says is East Hampton’s only ha-ha wall, a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier while preserving an uninterrupted view of the landscape.
6) 51 West End Road, East Hampton | $35 million
Lloyd and Barbara Macklowe, founders of the prestigious Macklowe Gallery, sold their oceanfront estate in East Hampton back in January. Hard Rock Cafe’s co-founder Peter Morton, a neighbor, was the buyer. Kyle Rosko and Marcy Braun of the Eklund | Gomes Team at Douglas Elliman exclusively represented the sellers. The last asking price for the property was $39.5 million, though it went on the market in late 2021 for $60 million. Even with the big reduction in price, Rosko says it moved at “a remarkable pace.” After multiple offers, the house was in contract in a little under a year from when it hit the market. Either way, the Macklowes stand to make money on the deal as they bought the 1.5-acre property for $3.5 million in 1992, even if taking into account their many upgrades over the years.
7) 140 Murray Lane, Southampton | $34.75 million
Bespoke Real Estate represented the buyer and seller in the transaction for 140 Murray Lane, which was last asking $41.9 million. The 8,000-square-foot modern house originally went on the market in 2022 for $44.995 million. It sits on 2.64 acres with 191 feet of Atlantic Ocean frontage. Built in 1992, there are six bedrooms and seven-and-a-half bathrooms. The gated property also includes a heated gunite swimming pool, a clay tennis court and a private boardwalk to the beach. Bespoke billed it as “a unique opportunity to move in or create a dream oceanfront estate.”
8) 35 Dune Road, Bridgehampton | $33.48 million
Financier James Carney sold his oceanfront home near Mecox Beach in an off-market deal in early January of 2023. Hedgerow Exclusive Properties and Erica Grossman of Douglas Elliman and Catherine Juracich of Corcoran brokered the sale of the 5,500-square-foot modern house, which was built in 2019. An infinity pool and a four-car garage can also be found on the one-acre property. The buyer was listed only as Dune Road Holdings LLC.
9) 31 Two Mile Hollow Road, East Hampton | $29 million
The 2.3-acre house, just 400 yards from the ocean, had a new owner by the time winter was over. The 8,500-square-foot, traditional custom house traded on March 17 in an off-market deal. With six bedrooms and nine bathrooms, the house was designed by Lawrence Randolph with a state-of-the-art kitchen, a double-height great room and a 3,500-square-foot finished lower level with a recreational room, gym. There is also a heated gunite pool and spa, a pool house, a tennis court and even an apple orchard. The Modlin Group’s Bridgehampton office represented the buyer. The buyer and seller were shielded under LLCs.
10) 1 Boatmans Lane, Southampton | $28,075,000
Billed as a shingle-style summer colony “cottage,” the waterfront home sold Feb. 9 for a little over $28 million. Tim Davis of the Corcoran Group and Hans von Schirach of Saunders & Associates had the co-exclusive. Christopher J. Burnside and Aubri Peele of Brown Harris Stevens, along with Harald Grant of Sotheby’s International Realty, represented the buyers, who were listed only as 1 Boatmans LLC. Located close to the Atlantic Ocean, the house at 1 Boatmans Lane boasts 350 feet of frontage on Taylor Creek. The six-bedroom, six-and-a-half bathroom house sits on a 4.4-acre property with “sensational sunsets,” according to Cocoran’s listing. Directly across the water is the Nature Conservancy’s Ruth Wales du Pont Sanctuary, a small preserve on the point between Heady Creek and Taylor Creek, accessible from Captain’s Neck Lane in Southampton Village. The last ask was $35 million.
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