A Broker With a Hometown Advantage Talks About âSelling the Hamptonsâ
A Broker With a Hometown Advantage Talks About âSelling the Hamptonsâ
Born and raised in Southampton, JB Andreassi knows the areaâs polarity when it comes to the seasons: summer and not summer.
Mr. Andreassi, 31, is a broker and builder, selling and developing real estate in the Hamptons, known for its resort towns and waterfront homes. He is an agent for Nest Seekers and is part of the cast of âSelling the Hamptonsâ on Discovery+, and formerly on the Netflix show âMillion Dollar Beach House.â Season 2 of âSelling the Hamptonsâ is scheduled to begin filming in June.
He is also a co-principal in the residential luxury development company Andreassi Development, where he works alongside his brother and their father who is a longtime local developer.
That makes him a local who knows how critical those hot summer days are to the townsâ economy and how real estate ebbs and flows as sure as the tide. He recently spoke about his job, the state of Hamptons real estate and his ties to the area. (This interview was edited for length and clarity.)
Tell me how you got into real estate. Your dad was in the business, right?
I just grew up around it. I grew up being on bulldozers, I grew up swinging a hammer. My dad (Joseph B. Andreassi, Jr.) built the library in Southampton back in the late â90s; and SYS (Southampton Youth Services), which is a big, 55,000-square-foot athletic facility. He did a lot for the town, for the local community, and he also built homes.
When you get a little older, you wonder, âWhoâs living here? Whoâs purchasing this?â And you learn, âOh, this is a community for some of the most successful people in the world, that are lucky enough or successful enough to come and buy a second or third home out here.â I was always fascinated with that lifestyle, because we did not grow up that way.
Which current trends have you noticed while selling?
Iâve seen pushes to places that were never really considered Hamptons, but maybe are now, or are in that general area. Places like Westhampton Beach and Remsenburg, compared to Sag Harbor, East Hampton, Bridgehampton, Southampton, didnât get as much love five or so years ago. Now, itâs one of the hottest trading areas out here.
The North Fork isnât the Hamptons, but itâs very close to the Hamptons. Itâs a place that has really beautiful landscapes, the sound to the north, gorgeous wineries; it just hasnât been developed as much as the Hamptons. Iâm seeing people start to really consider living and investing there.
Do you have any sense of why that is happening?
Lack of inventory. Itâs simple economics, supply and demand. Itâs like we have no properties to sell, we have a lot of buyers, and of the properties that are selling, the pricing is inflated. Sellers are getting really wild numbers because they know they can, the inventoryâs razor thin, and thereâs still a very large contingent of people who want a piece of the Hamptons.
Are buyers asking you for anything specific lately?
Indoor-outdoor living. And they want everything centralized inside their home, if theyâre able to do that. Having an extra office space has become vital in a purchase for most of my clients; same thing with space for a gym, whether itâs a pool house where they can put a Peloton or something similar. Solar paneling is also a big one that has hit over the last three to four years.
Which trends have you noticed in the rental space?
The rental client is often just someone whoâs going to buy in like three years, kind of testing it out, seeing if the Hamptons is for them. Iâm seeing a lot of people my age who are looking for a full-year rental, and have to pay way too much money for it.
I know itâs not part of the Hamptonsâ identity, but I think there should be more buildings that are more affordable, because there are a lot of people looking for housing who have to commute into the Hamptons to work every day.
We call it the trade parade, because itâs a lot of tradesmen that are coming out to help build the homes out there. The line starts at 6 a.m., trying to cross the Shinnecock Canal to get into Southampton, Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Montauk. But there are so many people, I donât even know where youâd put them, so itâs almost like you have to commute in. With gas prices over $5 a gallon, I donât know how sustainable that is for a lot of people who rely on their next paycheck to get by.
How would you describe the Hamptons real estate market?
It used to be a secondary market, and itâs becoming a primary market now. Properties that used to sit on the market for six months to a year are now going within a month. If youâre coming in to buy, you need to be prepared and have conviction. If you find the right thing, youâve got to pull the trigger.
How does âSelling the Hamptonsâ compare to âMillion Dollar Beach House?â
On âSelling the Hamptons,â weâre showing the pandemic style of really high-paced, highly active buyers, investors. Itâs more of us being experienced in what we do, more real estate, more homes. The other thing is, we actually show the Hamptons. We show local places, like the barbershop â the kids who run that barbershop grew up in East Hampton â and Hill Street boxing, founded by a local Southampton kid. I love that weâre bringing exposure to places like Golden Pear cafe, the mom-and-pop shops that make the Hamptons so distinct. Thatâs something I was really proud of with âSelling the Hamptonsâ compared to the other show.
Is the show good for business?
A lot of your business doesnât make TV, and youâll be doing a scene, it takes four hours; you get back to your phone and the people are like, âJB, where are you, what are you doing?â You say, âOh, Iâm shooting the show,â and theyâre like, âThatâs great, Iâm happy for you, but weâve got to get this deal done.â
A lot of my clients understand, and they come to me because of the TV thing. But Iâve lost business because of it, because I couldnât give them the attention they needed. We try to make it work, find the balance. Iâm getting better with it, but itâs challenging.
Are there properties available for under $1 million?
Theyâre hard to find; theyâre in certain areas. Springs could be an area where you could find something like that. Hampton Bays, East Quogue. And thatâs really it. Itâs slim pickings.
What are the most and least expensive houses youâve sold?
$20 million. It was listed for $20 million, sold for pretty damn close to that. The least expensive was $810,000, sold to a friend, in Springs.
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