No getaway plans for the holidays? No problem. There are still homes in the Hamptons available for rent for the holidays — that is if you have some cash to spare.
“The East End is a great escape for any season and if you can swing it, there’s nothing like coming to the Hamptons for the holiday,” says Dawn Watson of Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
“During the holidays, customers are looking for great entertainment areas, kitchens that can handle a big turkey, and cozy fireplace settings to enjoy,” says Joseph Van Asco, also of Douglas Elliman. “Most of the holiday rentals are around two-week stays, and there were quite a bit of holiday rentals around Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. It’s the same for the Christmas and New Year weeks. Though the off-season rental market did slow year over year, we still saw still interest from customers who rented through the summer and decided to stay through the fall and winter.”
Watson has a private Amagansett “resort-style estate” in mind that offers “a villa-style experience,” according to the listing. The 5,200-square-foot home in the Stony Hill enclave is going for $22,000 from December 20 through January 2.
Spend Christmas with the whole family around the fireplace in the great room or over a meal prepared out of the chef’s kitchen and served in the dining room. The “magnificently built masterpiece” from Barnes Coy Architects offers four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and two half-baths, including a first-floor primary bedroom, plus a study and office.
Starting off the New Year with an exercise regiment? The home includes a yoga room. Additional amenities include a screened-in porch with a view over the treetops, and a grotto-style patio.
Don’t want to leave? The home is available the rest of the year too for various lengths of time. Stay for the summer and enjoy the 50-foot heated gunite pool. Memorial Day through Labor Day, will cost $130,000. The property is also being offered for sale.
Out in Springs, Van Asco has a modern, newly renovated property with flexible dates available at a price tag of $9,950 for December or January. The property at 16 Lion Head Rock Road in the private beach community of Clearwater is being billed as a “luxury designer home,” with three bedrooms and three bathrooms, plus plenty of space for sleeping additional guests. Two ensuite bedrooms have access to a private patio.
Nicole Tunick of Douglas Elliman agrees that the demand for holiday rentals is not as high as it has been since the start of the pandemic. “Holiday rentals and off-season rentals have definitely slowed down from past years,” she says. “I think this is the first time in almost two years people are getting to have somewhat of a more normal holiday season, so I feel more people are traveling out of state to visit family. Then of course more people now own homes of their own in the Hamptons!”
Tunick has a Sag Harbor Village listing available. The luxurious home at 90 Denise Street, which is for sale for $2.5 million, is asking $10,000 for two weeks. The home features Viking and Bosch kitchen appliances, a walk-in wine cellar, and Sonos surround system. Relax this coming summer! The property is extremely private. The backyard backs up to an 80-acre reserve. While the 20-by-50-foot saltwater pool may be closed for the winter, there is a hot tub.
Susan Harrison of Douglas Elliman says holiday rentals are being impacted by the limited supply, but she contends the rental market overall is still as strong as ever. “What we are seeing now is the inventory squeeze that we are experiencing on the sell-side trickle over to rentals as well,” she says. “The COVID frenzy has subsided, but what has remained is a real paradigm shift. The Hamptons is not just a vacation or weekend destination. Families who came out here during the pandemic realized they love the lifestyle and want to establish a lasting presence.”
Many clients, she says, have decided to rent for a year or more because there was no inventory for them to buy. “On the demand side, with the recent news on Omicron, Delta and even more limitations on travel, I have gotten several calls within the past few weeks to find clients homes out here for Christmas and New Year’s. And in terms of next summer, we are already signing leases.”
Still available is 36 Osborne Road in East Hampton Village, a listing of Harrison’s that is available from December 17 to January 2 for $20,000. The main house, recently completely renovated, has four bedrooms and a living room featuring a fireplace, perfect for enjoying a hot cocoa in front of, the listing says. There is also a guest cottage with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bath perfect for a larger family that needs more space.
Rentals for the holidays can be found up and down the South Fork for varying prices. In Westhampton Beach, the newly-renovated home at 310 Montauk Highway is being offered at $3,000 for any two weeks in the winter. Lauren Spiegel of Douglas Elliman is representing the property.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home will make for a cozy spot for Christmas. It has space to relax and entertain with an oversized center island in the kitchen, a dining area and a gas fireplace. Need to get some work done over the holidays, the home has a built-in office space.
Summer 2022 is six months away and the home is being offered for then, as well. A 16-by-36 saltwater pool with LED lights, lounges and a sundeck will all be of use then. June or July will run a renter $45,000, while the month of August until Labor Day is $35,000.
In Bridgehampton, a modern traditional home is available for the rest of the month of December (It was asking $30,000 for the entire month). The five-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath at 148 Jobs Lane is renting for the first time since a major renovation. With 3,500-square-feet of living space, there is a beamed living room with a fireplace and floor-to-ceiling windows that offer a panoramic view of the neighboring reserve.
There is also a formal dining room for a holiday meal, a chef’s kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances and a second-level master suite that has a private sitting room and a large deck for taking in the vista.
Justin Agnello, James Keogh, Hara Kang and Sarah Keogh of the Atlantic Team at Douglas Elliman are representing the listing.
A newly-renovated home in Noyac, just a few hundred yards from private bay beach, is also available from December 23 to January 6 for $18,000. The home at 29 Woodland Drive features a “glamorous” living room, there is also a gourmet kitchen and eat-in area with a table that seats eight — so holiday meals won’t be a problem here. Each of the six bedrooms comes with a television, plus there is a 75-inch state-of-the-art TV in the living room. Raphael Avigdor of Douglas Elliman Real Estate is the owner and listing agent.
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