REAL ESTATE

INSIDE STORIES BEHIND AREA REAL ESTATE DEALS

ModernGreenHome
For those now interested in energy conservation, the "green home" of the year is an eco-gem being sponsored by HC&G as the 2008 HC&G Idea House. This hybrid and historic residence is now being completed in Sagaponack by builder ModernGreenHome. The 6,400-square-foot home (including a lower level of 9,000 square feet) is located nearby Pike's farmstand on Sagg Main Street. HC&G's design director Kyle Timothy Blood has assembled a team of 23 top designers to showcase just about every green option available these days. Opening is set for Friday evening, July 25 with a gala cocktail reception in honor of the 25th anniversary of The Peconic Land Trust. Other area green homes seem like modest efforts indeed—compared to this one. ModernGreenHome's Peter Sabbeth believes this house to be the "greenest" house ever built in this area and expects LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Exclusive: Five-Area Roundup!
Herewith, our second annual Five-Market real estate report. A quick perusal reveals mostly what we already know: The high end in all these areas is experiencing no diminution in sales or interest. The report that Donald Trump sold his oceanfront parcel in Palm Beach to a Russian is thought to be a further sign that we'll be having more Russian neighbors in both Palm Beach and the Hamptons. For the record, Russians have been quietly purchasing Hamptons properties for a few years—more on this in our next issue. As usual, our report begins with Scoop Drummond, this time musing on Montauk.

Castles in the Air
The notion of the brown, weathered, shingled cottage as a summer house is gone, gobbled up into a time warp that's world's away today. Former denizens of the Hamptons apparently didn't feel they needed all the comforts of home wrapped in perfect decorations. Rather, they were happy to escape the city or suburb for a few carefree months at the beach. There's no way to do that today. It's hard to live simply in a house that cost mega millions to build, furnished to oblivion right down to $80,000 in bed linens.