Will the Hampton Ever Be For the Young Again?

Other than Montauk, the younger vibrant successful people are not that visible in the Hamptons lately. With both high-end rentals and upscale home sales “soft” what is going on? Years ago young successful folks would buy a Hampton home and invite their parents out for a weekend or two or for Memorial Day, the 4th of July and Labor Day. Now perhaps it is many of those same people who are inviting their young adult children and their friends out for weekends. When is the next generation of east end summer homeowners going to emerge in force?

Sadly even local home ownership is aging with too many local children under 30 either living at home or unable to live on the east end. No one will ever challenge the work ethic of east end locals who many times have 3-4 jobs to be able to live all year round in their home town. Many are “house rich” and look to their home as their retirement bonanza. Others exist in the shifting sands known as the "hamptons year round rental market."

How will this stagnant real estate market affect life long hard working locals when they sell their homes? Hopefully this stagnant trend is short lived. Hopefully middle class jobs will start to grow in income and volume. However this stagnant/downtrend does not seem to effect the helicopter riding class who summer and own mansions in the Hamptons. Reports are of amazing growth of helicopter traffic in the last ten years. The same may be true about the number of private jets at East Hampton Airport.

Thirty years ago as a tourist to the east end with my family of four, I did not find it outrageous to stay and enjoy the wonders known as the east end. I just think that now conditions have changed.I still believe the east end is the greatest place to live or vacation so it pains me to see things as they are now.

There was a lot of press given to Cold Play’s performance at the Stephen Talkhouse last Sunday. What was bizarre was the average age of those mentioned in attendance in the press. Almost all of the celebrities (minus the bands friends and family) were over 50 with most over 60! Years ago such an event would have most folks under 30 with almost no one over 60! Is this a sign of the shift of wealth in our area? Has Wall Street narrowed down the sharing of the record highs to way fewer people? I am guessing on the west coast there is a new growing class of tech wizards who are fueling a luxury car and housing boom around Silicon Valley and Seattle but not so much here on the east coast.

It’s August "Summer of 2016" in the Hamptons with about 30 days until Labor day. I was telling my sailing buddy Todd that billionaires work all year to get these three weeks out here, and he said something that blew my mind. He said, "… now that they have those jets the billionaires can visit their Aspen homes a few days in August and zip over to London, Rome and Paris as well as stay in their east end mansions. Maybe all in one week.” That's different then Henry Ford parking his "private railroad car" at the Southampton train station.

I am hoping some day many folks in their young thirties can buy first and second homes on the east end like they could 40 years ago. It will be healthy for the whole east end. Perhaps once again a huge music event for charity at places like the Stephen Talkhouse won’t be dominated by aging extremely rich dinosaurs.