Andrew Doud 0:08

It is Thursday everyone. I'm Mandar Dowd. Time for our Happening in the Hamptons podcast, our weekly breakdown of the Hamptons market, new listings and events on the East End. We are sponsored today by New York Title Abstract, the Hamptons leading title insurance firm. Visit NewYorkTitle.com. Joining us as always, Steve Glick, Dave Retiner, and today return guest, my better half, Miss Sarah Dowd. How are you?

Sarah Doud 0:28

I'm doing good. Thanks for having me.

Andrew Doud 0:30

Uh of course, great to have you back on the show. We have a lot to get to, um, including we're gonna touch on a podcast you have just.

Sarah Doud 0:40

We might as well talk about yeah, the podcast that we always love doing.

Dave Rattiner 0:43

Isn't it the best podcast?

Andrew Doud 0:45

It's the best podcast. It's it's it has inspired. Especially when it makes you money. Yeah. Um let's start there. So you have uh a great listing. The last time you were on, we were talking about 55 Wickeduck, which um is owned by um an interior designer, right? Specializes in this.

Dave Rattiner 1:04

Yes.

Andrew Doud 1:05

He renovated the house, it was phenomenal. That's in contract, closing hopefully very soon. Okay, great. Um, so we've done a lot as far as video, and the owner was on the podcast last time. So between then and now, the house has gone in the contract, it's gonna close. So, how did that all come together? And and I guess what role did social media and the video and the podcast and everything play in all this?

Sarah Doud 1:31

I kind of love celebrating the power of the podcast and the power of video um, because it's definitely a cornerstone of my business and um success stories with selling houses in the Hamptons. You know, you're not just putting your sign in the front yard and saying, Someone call me, let's let's sell this house. There's such a um big effort behind the scenes when it comes to technology and um your reach, uh your digital reach. And so we had uh Brian Mims, who is studio BKM, on the podcast last visit, because I just thought it was kind of cool to open up the door and let him speak about the home and his design. And um that's just one of the elements aside from the many videos that we did uh interviewing him and and going through the house and talking about the rental success. I think it was one of the highest traffic videos um that Saunders had on social media. So just the power of video is so essential with selling houses. Um and so since that podcast, um, a Wall Street Journal affiliate known as Mansion Global picked up the story as well. Um, interviewed Brian. Um, you know, all these all these things are important that they're gonna be able to do that.

Dave Rattiner 2:32

Mansion Global is a big deal, man.

Sarah Doud 2:34

It's a big deal, and it and it was a wonderful feature, and um, you know, beautiful little house that you know isn't the highest, most expensive house in the Hamptons. Certainly not the biggest, but it's such a powerful, such a powerful, well-done house. And uh it's just a great success story. So I like celebrating that. Um, and so here we are, you know, going into the holidays and hopefully um more selling houses. This is the goal. That's it. More talking, more selling houses.

Andrew Doud 3:01

Yeah, that's it. Um let's talk a little bit about um, I mean, you talk about reach and how one thing kind of leads to another. Um, tell us about this. So obviously, this is this is the Saunders podcast, but you as an agent have uh collaborated with uh a mortgage lender to start your own podcast. Tell us a little bit about that.

Sarah Doud 3:21

So I was approached by uh a mortgage leader in the industry who loves what we do here and just frankly wanted more of it. And so once a month we're going around and interviewing and kind of getting on scene with um folks in the community to showcase obviously real estate and the mortgage market, but also highlight um the community. And so we've recently been over to the Bridgehampton Museum. Uh they have an event this weekend, so we'll talk about that later. Um, that led to joining the advisory panel and being more involved over there. So doing these things with digital just puts you in the forefront in the community, opens doors. Um, we just also sat down with the um Southampton Village mayor uh on his birthday, which was awesome. And he was able to share with us that they might do a flyover. They're working on doing a flyover for the um Fourth of July parade this summer. So like 250 years on really exciting um, you know, community things that are worth just getting involved in and you know, sitting and listening to the community um on a monthly basis and just trying to it's like you touched on real estate a little bit, but you're really it's it it's a a better way of just networking yourself, what you do.

Andrew Doud 4:29

It's like you're not trying to to hard sell somebody a house necessarily, but just being active and out there and and getting your name and your brand out there.

Sarah Doud 4:35

And I think networking is a great word because it's like you have to be in all the networking groups and go to all the networking parties, but you know, podcasts and community involvement, I think, is another way to do that and frankly to sell real estate.

Andrew Doud 4:46

But if somebody does see your sign up front and call you, definitely call. That works too. Definitely call. Um so let's talk a little real estate. What um what listings do you have now since Wikitux going in the contract? Is there anything that somebody could, you know, buy today, be in for Christmas? How does that work?

Sarah Doud 5:06

It's on at 1925. Uh private beach in the neighborhood. This looks nice. The uh property is good in size, about a half acre. It has a brand new heated pool. The basement is renovated, it's a three-bedroom, three-bath, uh, and also an amazing rental history on that one. It got 80,000 before the pool and before the basement. So now, frankly, you could net that number in just season. Um so now that you have those two things added to it with the amenities, um, it really checks a lot of boxes.

Dave Rattiner 5:37

It looks clear pretty it looks like it's fully cleared almost, isn't it?

Sarah Doud 5:40

Yeah, it is. And there's room for to do more. So there's room for a garage, there's room to make it a little bit bigger, but it's a great entry-level starter Southampton house. Um, and then having the beach, obviously, it's just the kind of neighborhood uh that really goes up in value. So that one's terrific. And and a real seller, right now in December, you'll see a lot of houses coming off market. Um you know, and those are people that are either really married to their listing price and they're gonna come back in the spring when there's a little bit more competition um with more buyers out there. But if you see houses on now in the dead of winter in December, then they're pushing it, there it means they want to sell. So from a buyer's side, um, like I just have contracts out today on the buyer's side for something else. But um, from a buyer's perspective, you want to keep driving. Like I know it's the holidays and you might want to just kind of kick your feet up, but this is a great time of year to keep momentum and really get a good Hamptons deal.

Steve Glick 6:32

It might not be, you know, some crazy preg, you know, crazy deal, but you're gonna save a little money by by people are coming out here, they're coming out to the Hamptons for the holidays and for the season and they're spending time, so it's like, why not just you know look at real estate while they're out here?

Sarah Doud 6:45

So and if it's listed, it's a real seller.

Steve Glick 6:48

I exact absolutely. I think if the house is not being utilized, so some people take the houses off the market because, oh, we're we're gonna be using it for the holiday season, so we don't want to be inconvenienced. But if the house is uh empty or you know, you they're the homeowners are not gonna be there living there, traveling, whatever, keep it on the market. Do open houses and just creep it in. We've been seeing a lot of activity recently, a lot. And um, it's been great to see this as we're in mid-December. So I would say to Sarah, like, absolutely right, keep the house on the market.

Andrew Doud 7:19

Let's uh let's keep that going. What what have we seen as far as activity numbers?

Steve Glick 7:22

21 listings went into the contract this past week. So that's pretty high for this time. Last year was 18, so it's an increase of 17 percent. Two years ago it was 20, so increase there of just five percent. So pretty on par with these past two years, and I'm happy to see that it's over 20 as we're you know into the first um week of December. 21, the breakdown of those 21 transactions, one between 15 and 20 million, three between five and ten million, two between three and five million, six between two and three million, and nine between one and two million dollars. So this fits 22 Fern, it just fits right into that one and two million dollar range. $75 million in dollar volume last year was 95, so a little decrease there of 21%. Two years ago, the dollar volume was 88 million, so a decrease of 15%. There were 30 new listings that came onto the market, so that's a lot. A lot of new inventory coming on, and that increases the inventory by nine listings. The breakdown of those 30 new listings, two between 15 and 20 million, one between 10 and 15, five between five and ten, five between three and five, eight between two and three, seven between one and two, and there's two properties under a million dollars. Inventory is at seventeen hundred and thirty five total listings, thirteen hundred and twenty-eight active and four hundred and seven in contracts. So there's still low inventory uh on them in the market, but great opportunities in all price points.

Dave Rattiner 8:47

How is that low inventory hitting your world? You know, it just seems like it's low, you know?

Sarah Doud 8:55

Yeah, it just I think a lot of people are okay with it being low, and uh they're frankly just waiting for the spring and they're telling themselves, okay, it's not here today, I'm not falling in love, but I'll be back in the spring, and rates will probably be a little bit better then, so the timing will just work out. Um but it's the Hamptons always is just pretty competitive. So if it if it's always a well-priced house with the amenities comes on and a good location, it's gone, you know. So um so low inventory to me from all perspectives, I guess, just says be prepared if you're if you're selling it, make sure you have the right price attached to it so that you can attract that audience that's really serious. And if you are on the buyer side, um just be ready to go and move because the Hamptons market moves very quickly. So once you have your offer, your acceptance, uh contracts are out, you know, sometimes people are surprised by the pace and you need to move and and keep the momentum because there's definitely someone behind you who who wants that house if it's a good one. If it's selling, it means it's a good one.

Andrew Doud 9:54

But didn't you take somebody out on New Year's Day one year?

Sarah Doud 9:57

Yes, in a snowstorm. Yeah, and we had to keep moving because uh What kind of car do you have? And you needed it. This was up towards like the baiting hollow area where it's a little more hilly up there. Um but by by Monday, by the time the snow had cleared, we already had the inspection done and the contracts were out. So then anybody waking up and coming out to oh, I think I'm interested in this one now, it was you know pretty much gone, which was great.

Andrew Doud 10:22

That's awesome.

Sarah Doud 10:22

Um but I just want to hit on uh one more thing too. As we go into January, we usually see some price reductions uh that come on before people who are like, let me just get through the holidays. But from a buyer's perspective, if you are looking at a house right now, today and then the next week online, the chance of them that they obviously if they're gonna do a price reduction in January, giving them an offer now of the number that worked for you could interest that seller. So, you know, waiting for the price reduction and watching and saying, Oh, I'll make a move when they come down, you're kind of just setting yourself up to have more competition. So if there's a house that you're in love with, you know, you should be content contacting your agent and you should be making a move because it you might be able to work it out ahead of that.

Andrew Doud 11:02

Put an offering.

Sarah Doud 11:03

Put an offering, get it started.

Andrew Doud 11:05

Right.

Sarah Doud 11:05

Start the conversation, I like to say.

Andrew Doud 11:06

Start the conversation. Um Dave, what's happening this weekend?

Dave Rattiner 11:11

Um you know, lots of cool. Well, let's talk about what I wanted to talk about, you were mentioning prior to the podcast.

Sarah Doud 11:16

The Gibson Carroll's um Bridghampton Museum. So this is my first time ever attending this event, but it's gonna be four to six at the Bridghampton Museum, which is on the opposite end of town. Uh, there's two museums. They've got the Corwith House across from the Candy Kitchen, and then on the opposite end, they have um the Rogers House, and that's where the event will end up. You bring uh a gift for the uh any kids that might need them over at the Bridgehampton Childcare Center. Um, and then I did sponsor the tree lighting. So I just felt like that corner was a little um not so festive. It was looking a little dark, and I thought it would be really nice to brighten it up and uh make it really inviting. And it's a great museum. If anybody hasn't been in there, it's definitely worth a visit.

Andrew Doud 11:58

The Rogers House, that was um that's what that's called, right? So that was I I don't want to say in disrepair, but they renovated that.

Sarah Doud 12:05

Yeah, it was a big project a number of years ago. Um, and now of course they're moving on to expanding to their next phase of projects, which is continued renovations, and then also at the Corwith house doing more over there. Um with older properties like that. I think it's just an endless renovation game. But it's nice to keep it going though, yeah. Always looking to make it better. That's great. It's very special from a real estate perspective to see a house that old and that special in Birchhampton is really fun.

Andrew Doud 12:29

Yep. Still alive and not knocked down for something new and modern. Exactly. Um other events.

Dave Rattiner 12:38

Yeah. So other events. So this weekend is finally here. The polar bear plunge speech. No. Is that Cooper's speech? You've done it before, Dave. I've done it before, yeah. But it's very I'm just not up for these kinds of things anymore. It must be like an old age thing. You're like, why would I do it? I was like, this is a great idea. This is gonna be so great. You know, but things change, I guess, as you age. But anyway, that's this uh that's December 13th, starts at 9 a.m. Um, and I mean, if you can go, you have to go, just even just to watch. I mean, there's they have trumpets, they have like a little mini cannon that they fire off, there's people dressed in ridiculous outfits.

Andrew Doud 13:25

Everybody's really gung-ho, and then they hit the water and they're like, uh, okay.

Sarah Doud 13:29

Hamptons.com will probably definitely be there with your photos.

Dave Rattiner 13:31

Exactly. It's a super high energy like uh community event. And so you're gonna want to go and check this out. This is a a really fun thing. Um but you know, other than that, this actually looks really nice to me. The 1770 house in East Hampton is having an Italian holiday, holiday wine dinner December 11th from 6 p.m. And you and I have had this conversation. I think my favorite is Italian food. Like if I had were to have food, the same food every single day, I think it would be Italian food. I think that's what it would be. We've tossed up maybe it could be Mexican food, but yeah, I've landed on Italian food. Italian food is incredible. Steve, what's your voice, Steve? I was going Mexican. I was like, he likes the Mexican food.

Sarah Doud 14:20

Andrew would take just some uh rice, chicken, and broccoli.

Andrew Doud 14:22

I have my I have my standard order for the day-to-day, but I do love Italian.

Dave Rattiner 14:27

Yeah, yeah. Dude, it's just incredible. So this looks really special. Um, it's you know, I'm looking at this menu here. It's five courses, five, a five-course restaurant experience. They're gonna have uh Frank Sinatra playing in the background, uh and there's the fireplace going there, and it's gonna be curated by uh Chef Razzi. So, I mean, how do you beat this? I would love to do this. It's probably a little pricey, but um, you know, everything's pricey these days, right? Might as well go for it, go splurge on that. Um, if you have kids, uh breakfast with Santa at the Hampton Maid is happening December 14th in Hampton Bays. You know, I've never had breakfast with it.

Sarah Doud 15:13

Oh, you need to go. We were just in the legendary spot. I've got it's renovated, and so although it's legendary, the new version is really cool. And it just feels great. I highly recommend it.

Dave Rattiner 15:26

Yeah, so it's on the 14th. I mean, it's $55 per person, $25 for a kid, so it must be a really good breakfast. It is. Um, and is it like a buffet?

Sarah Doud 15:38

That I don't know for this event, but typically it's beautiful plated, you know, all the garnishes.

Dave Rattiner 15:44

Yeah, so you could go, you probably don't even have to have the prefix, you could probably just go and have regular breakfast. But um, I guess I gotta go and check this out. I think I've been saying that for like 10 years, but uh maybe it's not far from you. I mean it's an easy drive from a lot of people see. I've never seen to go. It's on a it's on the we should go and see Santa. Yeah, well that's true.

Andrew Doud 16:03

You don't even have to cross the canal.

Dave Rattiner 16:04

I know. It's still on the I don't even have to get my passport.

Sarah Doud 16:08

And then everyone should come to the nutcracker once they're headed that way on Sunday, because Saturday, Sunday, the Nutcracker in West Hampton.

Dave Rattiner 16:13

But yeah, that's right.

Sarah Doud 16:14

It's always a highlight.

Dave Rattiner 16:15

Is your daughter doing that? Yeah. Is your daughter doing that?

Steve Glick 16:18

Both of them. We're in there. We'll be there Saturday and Sunday.

Andrew Doud 16:21

Saturday, Sunday, four shows. That's my uh my weekend is occupied by all things festive. Um, quick note the water temperature at Cooper's Beach, according to Surfline, is 50 degrees. Yeah.

Sarah Doud 16:32

You can do it. It's like a cold plunge. It's a cold plunge at Gurney's.

Dave Rattiner 16:36

The other day I was in a house.

Sarah Doud 16:37

It's warmer than the air. Yeah, yeah.

Dave Rattiner 16:38

You know, I can only it's like a hot tub. I can only imagine the absolute regret that must happen when people spend like five, six, seven thousand dollars on a cold plunge in their house. It's like they probably use it like one time. Terrible idea. And then they're like, what was I thinking? It's like all you have to do is like fill a bathtub with the cold water. That's gotta be 50 degrees.

Steve Glick 16:59

Throw some ice in there.

Dave Rattiner 17:00

It's like, what are you doing? But um, anyway, and then so finally there is the Christmas tree lighting celebration at the Amigansett life saving and coast guard station. This is the third annual Christmas tree lighting. Saturday, December 13th, from 4 p.m. to 5 30 p.m. There will be uh like a little party, and then the tree lighting happens directly at 5 30.

Sarah Doud 17:23

Um which station is that?

Dave Rattiner 17:24

This is the one in Amiganset. I think it's right off of by Atlantic Beach there. I think it's by Atlantic Beach, yeah, Atlantic Avenue. So um, this is a good time with the Koanis Club. There's a toy drive and uh music and hot chocolate and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. All the holiday, all the holiday guts. Oh there you go. It's a busy time of year.

Sarah Doud 17:44

There's no there's no shortage of events in the off season in the Hamptons. At least now it really is.

Dave Rattiner 17:49

Yeah, it's hard to have seasonal depression in the Hamptons this time of year.

Andrew Doud 17:52

You know, it's a great season. And to that point, uh, as we talk about the season of giving, just uh a quick note here the uh Hampton Bay's Fire Department, which I'm a member of, is doing their annual stuff a truck uh toy drive for the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island, which helps uh children undergoing medical treatments and their families. So if you have a toy unwrapped, please drop it off 24-7 at the Hampton Bay's Fire Department on Montauk Highway, right there in town. Dispatch room's always open. You can just kind of pop in, drop off a toy, and that will be going on until December 18th.

Dave Rattiner 18:27

You know, I think that those are my number one charities, these charities that support kids that are sick and then do things. They do a lot for them, yeah.

Andrew Doud 18:33

I mean it's like it's crazy. And you just want every kid to have like a nice little holiday.

Dave Rattiner 18:37

You know, it's like how do you not help that? So anyway. So that's what you got going on?

Andrew Doud 18:42

Nice. That's it. Anything else before we let you go?

Sarah Doud 18:45

Uh maybe just a little one more plug for the Hamptons on Air, uh other podcasts. If you feel like getting more uh more real estate and more community in between, my next visit here. Yeah, put a follow right now. Super excited.

Steve Glick 18:57

And that's what we're we're thinking.

Sarah Doud 18:58

That's on Spotify, Apple, The Buzz, um, all the plat all the platforms where we we are here. Same thing. That's a great and it will be on and I'll I'll share some stuff on Instagram as well, which is just Sarah Dowd Real Estate.

Andrew Doud 19:09

So Hamptons on Air is a good name, especially given your TV background. Very creative. Thank you.

Dave Rattiner 19:15

I don't understand what does it mean.

Andrew Doud 19:16

Hampton, like on air. I'm just kidding. I was like, oh my gosh, is that not self-explanatory?

Sarah Doud 19:24

Thanks, guys.

Andrew Doud 19:25

Anyway, all right, Sarah. Thank you for joining us. Everybody have a great week, have a great weekend. I'm Andrew Dowd, and that is what's happening in the Hampton.