A seafront property in Southampton listed at $150 million ranks as the most expensive home for sale in the Hamptons – and is struggling to pull itself off the market.
Dubbed La Dune, the site is likely to be used as a summer home, drawing from a tiny pool of buyers, likely billionaires, who could afford to foot the bill. Even in the Hamptons, sales over $100 million are rare.
La Dune, named for the sand dune it sits behind, is spread across two adjacent properties with two homes, two swimming pools, and a sunken tennis court for about four acres.
Finding a buyer for the sprawling grounds, which includes a classic clapboard Hamptons-style main home originally built more than 100 years ago, and a second home on the adjacent lot, built in the early 2000s, has not been easy was built.
The two beach houses with two pools and a tennis court in the foreground of the photo are the La Dune property.
Liam Gifkins
“This house is the furthest thing from a demolition, but if the house wasn’t here, this lot alone would be worth $50 million,” Nest Seekers listing agent Shawn Elliott told CNBC.
And Elliott promises that La Dune’s price tag isn’t just designed to make headlines.
“I believe this is 100% a very realistic price point to attract buyers in this marketplace,” said Elliott, who is co-listing the house with Geoff Gifkins.
Aerial view of the La Dune estate from across the ocean.
Liam Gifkins
The property sits on over 400 feet of premier beachfront along Gin Lane, sometimes referred to as “Billionaires Beach.” It’s one of the most exclusive stretches of white sand in the world.
“With real estate, we always know the location, location, location; it’s not a cliché,” Elliott said. “You really are on the 50-yard line of nothing but wealth.”
In 2016, Louise Blouin, owner of La Dune, art magazine editor and collector, listed the property with Sotheby’s International at a price of $140 million. At that time there were no buyers.
Over the years the residence has been listed as a summer rental. This year, a one-month stay would cost you $1.2 million.
The master suite on the third floor of the main house offers impressive sea views.
Liam Gifkins
The home has been on and off the market since 2016, and Blouin has reportedly faced possible foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings to maintain control of the site.
She relisted La Dune with a new brokerage firm in August, raising the claim to $150 million.
If the Nest Seekers team comes close to achieving what their client wants for the property, they will break an all-time record in the Hamptons.
A living room in the main apartment.
Liam Gifkins
According to public records analyzed by Jonathan Miller, president of real estate appraisal and consulting firm Miller Samuel, only five compounds in the Hamptons have ever sold for more than $100 million.
The all-time record is still held by the sale of three separate but contiguous lots spanning 16 acres located at 60-64 Further Lane in East Hampton which traded for $137 million.
The two most recent nine-figure transactions, according to public records, were both made in Water Mill, a hamlet also in the city of Southampton, about two miles east of La Dune.
The 42-acre Fordune estate sold in 2021 for a record-breaking $105 million.
CNBC
First came the mega sale of a 42-acre, 20,000-square-foot oceanfront estate known as Fordune at 90 Jule Pond Drive. The former Ford family estate was originally listed for $175 million in 2017 and was on the market for nearly four years before selling for $105 million in 2021, a 40% discount but still a record for Individual lots in the Hamptons.
In 2022, an even bigger sale eclipsed the silent off-market purchase of 70 Cobb Road, which was recorded at $118 million. Facing a creek rather than the sea, this site consisted of four contiguous lots measuring approximately 21 acres. The sale included two homes that together provided more than 32,000 square feet of living space. The mega deal remains the second-biggest sale by the Hamptons of all time.
The Atlantic Ocean provides a stunning backdrop to two villas for sale on Gin Lane, Southampton.
Liam Gifkins
A living room in the La Dune family home.
Liam Gifkins
The La Dune lot is listed as spread over four acres with 21,000 square feet of living space in two houses.
Gravel road leading to the main house at 376 Gin Lane.
Liam Gifkins
The four-story primary residence at 366 Gin Lane is over 11,000 square feet.
The second residence on the La Dune estate has its own swimming pool.
Liam Gifkins
The three-story second home at 376 Gin Lane, which owner Blouin describes as a “family home,” is more than 9,600 square feet.
One of the main suites on the second floor of the family home.
Liam Gifkins
The villa pair comprises a total of 19 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms.
Library in the second home of the estate.
Liam Gifkins
The lowest level of the so-called family house includes a fitness room, a steam room, a bar, a billiard room and a home cinema.
Home cinema in the second home.
Liam Gifkins
The family kitchen in the main house is one of several kitchens on the property.
Liam Gifkins
There are several kitchens on the property including a large staff kitchen for catering events on the first floor of the main house. There is also a more modest family kitchen, one floor above.
The main house’s swimming pool is flanked by two bars and white columns.
Liam Gifkins
Blouin told CNBC she’s selling her home in Hamptons in part because she and her kids spend most of their time in Europe — not Southampton.
Deck and stairs leading to 400 feet of sandy beach on Southampton’s exclusive beach.
Liam Gifkins
According to public records, property taxes for both lots that make up the La Dune site total nearly $130,000 per year.