Hamptons real estate is so hot it’s the star of a new reality show

EH: You used to work for the National Hockey League on their business development team — why the move to real estate

Andreassi: Sport has always been one of my passions, since I was a child. I think the world of construction and real estate was too. My father – I grew up on tractor-trailers and bulldozers – he was a very active member of the Southampton community, building the library, schools and single-family homes. So I grew up around her. And my sports career after graduating from college – I felt a bit dissatisfied. A good friend of mine had worked for Related Development, one of the biggest real estate companies in the country and they were opening a new building in DC and they had an opening. For two years I was there, and then I thought why not take it to the next level and go back to the Hamptons and help my dad grow his construction business, and also do what I think I do pretty well, i.e. sell.

EH: And how does working in real estate in the Hamptons differ from what you were doing in Washington?

Andreassi: DC was a totally different animal. There, I worked under the aegis of a large real estate development company. It was a 384 unit mixed-use building, so I’m going to be selling this type of product in the Hamptons where you’re strictly selling single family homes and most of the time it’s second, third, fourth homes for people. So I think the biggest difference is that I went from selling something to someone who needs that product to selling something to someone who just wants it.

EH: Are there markets similar to the Hamptons?

Andreassi: I think South Florida – the Palm Beach-Fort Lauderdale-Miami area – these are kind of mirror markets in my opinion. The same client who has their condo or primary residence in Manhattan has their little getaway home in Florida and their summer home in the Hamptons. I think you can draw a lot of similarities.

EH: And what made you decide to be part of “Selling the Hamptons?”

Andreassi: I didn’t decide that, it was just thrown at me. It’s so funny I never expected to be a part of something like this, I don’t even like reality TV, it’s so ironic. But Eddie Shaprio, who’s the CEO of Nest Seekers, approached me and said, ‘Hey, we need someone who knows the Hamptons and we need someone who can represent the company. on a very professional level.”

I saw it as an opportunity. There are so many great brokers in the Hamptons and not a lot of products. It’s not in New York that you have all these buildings and units – you really have a finite number of listings available with over 1000 agents fighting for them. So I said, ‘Okay, if I want to do this, I have to split up, and how I split up is I go on this TV show and show my personality, show some of the network and connections that I have and try to generate business this way. And it has brought me a lot.

EH: What sets it apart from other real estate-focused reality shows?

Andreassi: I can’t watch “Selling Sunset” and I could barely watch “Million Dollar Listing” sometimes – I’m probably being too honest about it, but I try to bring the real, authentic personality to the show and I am really. A lot of people tell me, “You shoot too straight. I feel like with these shows sometimes it’s like people aren’t fully themselves and just care about how they look, and so I feel like people who are in “Selling the Hamptons” – this is really crap. We’re not TV viewers, we’re actually real estate agents who just got put into that position, and I guess we’re good looking enough to be on TV.

EH: How would you classify the Hamptons real estate market today?

Andreassi: Buyer demand is as strong as it was during Covid. The problem is that we have no more houses for sale at this point. As of Q1 2021, we had approximately 950 properties available – active listings – in the Hamptons. This year, at this time, there are only 475 units available. That’s a supply drop of about 48%, but you still have that strong buyer demand. So now it’s like what do we do? I’ve knocked on doors begging family friends to sell because I have buyers in the wazoo, but we just don’t have the properties for sale. Everyone is doing their homework and doing their due diligence on how to get creative now. It’s going to be really interesting to see how we combat this during our selling season which starts next month.

EH: What are the must-haves for Hamptons buyers??

Andreassi: People need the home office, of course. I’ve also seen a recent need for a butler’s pantry that sits somewhere outside the kitchen where if you have someone working or helping to entertain your guests they go back there and cook or pour drinks. Screened porches are another thing I see a lot. It’s all the amenities that people don’t have to go out to use, whether it’s a home gym, a sauna, kind of like how these big buildings in New York design their buildings where they are very well equipped so that people do not feel the need to leave. The same goes for new homes and new developments in the Hamptons.

EH: What do you think of North Fork and its growth?

Andreassi: I wish North Fork would explode. Honestly, to me, North Fork is so lovely. These are the Hamptons at least 20, 25 years ago. I think you have some really good restaurants that are starting to pop up. Greenport is a super fun nautical town, you have vineyards everywhere. And most importantly, it’s affordable compared to the Hamptons. So you have a lot of things that make the Hamptons special, but you can get them for a great price. Why didn’t people make a big effort there? Maybe it’s because of the ocean, they don’t have sandy beaches. But I anticipate – I will make that call – a big push there over the next five years. Because land has become so scarce and expensive in the Hamptons that it’s the only natural progression. There’s not much left on the South Fork, so either it’s going to head west towards Remsemberg or it’s going to be the North Fork.

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