SURREAL ESTATE
Lavish Hamptons homes star in new Netflix show
For sale: a 3,300-square-foot modern mansion with a heated pool, a roof deck with a fire pit and a deep-water dock — for a yacht, of course — that juts into Sag Harbor Cove.
The place is “a panty-dropper,” says real-estate agent Peggy Zabakolas.
It’s one of the jaw-dropping properties featured on “Million Dollar Beach House,” a reality show premiering Wednesday on Netflix about the cutthroat Hamptons property market that follows five real-estate brokers at the Nest Seekers agency who go to extreme lengths to please billionaire clients, score listings and close deals, all while avoiding on-screen drama.
That last goal, naturally, doesn’t last long. Just take the Sag Harbor spread, priced at $5.99 million at the time. The owner, who dubbed her Hamptons hideaway the Patti
Shack, has frumpy taste.
“Patti has Buddhas and tchotchkes everywhere,” says Michael Fulfree, who stands to make $360,000 in commission if he can sell it. “It needs to be sleek and modern.”
So Fulfree throws “tens of thousands of dollars” into staging the joint, replacing furniture and throwing a happy hour to attract young buyers. During the shindig, Patti appears .“Holy f--k, I hate it ,” she says.
Fulfree tries to steer Patti, still spouting disses, away from any prospective buyers.
After all, the stakes are high. The peak season for Hamptons real estate has historically been short — from Memorial Day to Labor Day — and 2,500 brokers compete for a handful of luxury listings in the series of bucolic beachy towns from Southampton to Montauk.
“You only need to get a few deals done per year and you can live comfortably,” says Fulfree’s high school friend and new colleague, rookie agent JB Andreassi. So the pressure is on.
The summer of 2019, when the six 30minute episodes of “Million Dollar Beach House” were filmed, was a tough one for brokers. Fulfree, Andreassi and Zabakolas are joined by Noel Roberts and James “Jimmy” Giugliano. Inventory was high, buyers were picky and sellers weren’t willing to budge — which meant that the team had to come up with creative ways to draw interest to their clients’ lavish properties.
It’s all about over-the-top amenities such as a custom-built dog-washing room at 6 Old Towne Lane in Southampton or the pizza oven in the kitchen at 21 Kellis Way in Bridgehampton, listed for $6.99 million.
The Nest Seekers team also has a yacht to entertain clients — and to take teambonding jaunts to smooth over tensions.
Roberts and Zabakolas clash over an edgy oceanfront property at Marine Drive in Amagansett. Although the 5,200-squarefoot house was not even officially on the market, Roberts prices it at $35 million, and Zabakolas — and her client Justin, whom she takes to tour it — balk at the price.
“It’s three times more than anything nearby,” Justin says, while the trio sits on the roof deck overlooking the beach. Still, the work isn’t always so glamorous. “I am sometimes a cleaning lady. I am a divorce therapist. I am a dog walker,” Zabakolas told The Post.
Andreassi and Giugliano schlepped heavy furniture around when commanded by owners Max and Michelle Breskin of Water Mill. Entrepreneur Neil St. Clair, who toured the $6.25 million home at 468 Edge of Woods Road, didn’t seem to notice the dining set but liked that it was adjacent to a horse farm. “I have a 6-year-old daughter, so I’m looking to get a pony,” St. Clair says.
To help Yale Fishman sell his eight-bedroom property at 475 David Whites Lane in Southampton that listed for $5.89 million last summer, Giugliano and Andreassi threw a $30,000 party complete with servers in skintight jumpsuits and a live DJ.
“I’m spending $30,000 to get this sold. It’s a lot of money to risk,” Giugliano says.
Despite the expense, Fishman gets annoyed when Giugliano, whose wife was pregnant at the time, takes a phone call. “Ringers are off,” Fishman says.
Disappointingly, only one house actually sells on the show. Giugliano secures a buyer for 290 Narrow Lane in Southampton for $9.4 million. But that all changed this summer thanks to New Yorkers fleeing the coronavirus.
“I’ve secured properties for billionaires and princesses, all of it was sight unseen,” Roberts told The Post.
In fact, 475 David Whites Lane, the site of the $30,000 party, is about to close for above ask — now $7.49 million — thanks to Zabakolas, who is the current broker.
“I came here to kick ass in the f - - king Hamptons, make as--t ton off--king money and have good friends around and that’s it,” she says on the show. “I’m just trying to look out for myself and nobody else.”