Hamptons Real Estate Is Suddenly Sunnier, Hamptons Home Prices Rise...And More

A release of pent-up demand in the Long Island enclave boosted home sales in the third quarter. Photo courtesy of AP Images

1. Hamptons Real Estate Is Suddenly Sunnier [Crain's New York Business]
Home sales in the Hamptons - Long Island's beach oasis for the rich and famous - are making a comeback. Sales rose 32 percent during the third quarter from the same time last year, according to report released Thursday.

2. Hamptons Home Prices Rise As Buyers Return To $2 Million Deals Share Business [Bloomberg]
Home prices in the Hamptons, the Long Island beachside getaway for Wall Street financiers and celebrities, rose 4.7 percent in the third quarter amid a surge in sales of properties from $2 million to $5 million.

3. U.S. Commercial Property Up In Third Quarter [Reuters]
The prices of investment-grade commercial real estate rose more than four percent in the third quarter, possibly signaling an end to the sector's year-long downward spiral, according to an leading property index released on Tuesday.

4. Commercial Real Estate Debt Spreads Rise As Fed Rejects Bonds [Bloomberg]
Yields on bonds backed by hotel, shopping-center and skyscraper loans rose relative to benchmarks amid concern that a U.S. program to spur lending may see a slowdown in demand after Federal Reserve rejected five securities, according to Barclays Capital.

5. Luxury Auction Seeks 'Absolute' Market Value [Housing Wire]
A five-bedroom, seven-bath luxury estate 25 minutes from Manhattan is set to hit the auction block on November 17 - with no minimum bid required. This set-up, called an "absolute" auction, is meant to set the market value determined by a competitive bidding process. It eliminates minimum bids and reserves, meaning in theory the market could set the value at as little as $1, if only one lucky bidder shows.

6. Custom-Built; Customer Opted Out [New York Times]
This house, built for an owner who invested three years and $11 million and then changed his mind, can be had unfinished for $9 million. Gawking at lofty turrets, castle-sized rooms, smart technology and 10 full and four half baths, a cluster of real estate agents toured a 17-room stone and stucco mansion during an open house here on a recent afternoon. Meanwhile, craftsmen on scaffolding continued to work on the foyer's domed ceiling.

7. Flipping A Coin, Dividing An Empire [New York Times]
Henry Elghanayan marched into a conference room high above Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan on March 4. After nearly four decades as partners, he and two of his brothers were dividing up their $3 billion real estate empire.