- The most expensive ZIP code on the East Coast is a tiny village in the Hamptons, according to a November 2019 report by Property Shark.
- Sagaponack, a town of only 322 permanent residents, has a median home sale price of $4.3 million.
- One study found you’d need to make at least $853,738 to live there comfortably.
- Celebrities and business executives, including the talk-show host Jimmy Fallon and the billionaire investor Ira Rennert, own homes in the secluded village.
- But people aren’t buying pricey summer homes in the Hamptons the way they once did.
- Home sales in the Hamptons have dipped to their lowest levels in seven years, and there are the most luxury homes sitting on the market since at least 2011, Bloomberg reported.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The Hamptons, a series of beach towns dotting eastern Long Island, New York, are known for being a summer retreat for the wealthy and famous of New York.
Within the Hamptons’ many affluent towns, a tiny village of 322 people stands out as the priciest ZIP code on the East Coast and the second-most expensive in the country, according to a November 2019 report by Property Shark.
Sagaponack, a village in the town of Southampton in the 11962, has been called home by CEOs, musicians, famous authors, and celebrities. The median sale price for a home is $4.3 million, and to live comfortably in the Hamptons village, you’ll need to make at least $853,738 a year, according to a GoBankingRates study. Sagaponack was the priciest ZIP code in the country in 2015 and 2015 before being beat out by Atherton, California, in 2017. (Atherton remains the most expensive ZIP code in America.)
But the Hamptons real-estate market as a whole has been suffering. Home sales in the ritzy seaside communities have slumped to their lowest level in 7 years, and there are the most luxury homes sitting on the market since at least 2011, Bloomberg reported. In Sagaponack, the median sale price dropped by about $1.2 million in the past year, according to PropertyShark.
Here's a look inside the exclusive Hamptons community of Sagaponack, the priciest ZIP code on the East Coast.
Sagaponack, the most expensive ZIP code on the East Coast and the second-priciest in the country, is a village in the Hamptons, a stretch of affluent seaside communities on New York's Long Island.
Source: Google Maps
By car, it's about 2.5 hours from New York City.
Source: Google Maps
Sagaponack was the priciest ZIP code in the US in 2015 and 2016 before it was beat out by Atherton, California, in 2017.
Source: Property Shark
You'll need to make at least $853,738 to live comfortably in Sagaponack, one study found.
Source: GoBankingRates
The village, which has a permanent population of only 322, is full of multimillion-dollar homes owned by celebrities and CEOs.
Source: US Census Bureau
In an aerial view of the village, you can see that many of the residences include pools and tennis courts.
Source: Google Maps
Talk-show host Jimmy Fallon purchased this $5.5 million farmhouse in Sagaponack in 2011, according to Curbed.
Source: Curbed
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein once lived in this home on Sagaponack's Parsonage Lane. He sold it for $13 million in 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
The billionaire businessman Ira Rennert owns a 29-bedroom, 39-bathroom mansion on prime beachfront property in Sagaponack.
Source: Business Insider
A real-estate broker told Crain's that the home, which Rennert had built in the 1990s, was worth an estimated $500 million in 2015.
Source: Business Insider
The mansion reportedly includes a 164-seat theater, two tennis courts, a 100-car garage, and a 10,000-square-foot playhouse with a basketball court and a two-lane bowling alley.
Source: Business Insider
The singer Billy Joel once lived in this Sagaponack mansion facing the water, but he sold it in 2014 for $19 million, according to Newsday.
Source: Newsday
Many of Sagaponack's lavish homes are hidden from view by tall hedges and rows of trees.
Source: Google Maps
Curbed rated Sagaponack's Sagg Main Beach as one of the best beaches in the Hamptons. New York magazine called the nearby Gibson Beach "a slice of St. Tropez."
Source: Curbed, New York Magazine
Sagaponack is home to one of the few remaining active one-room schoolhouses in the country, nicknamed "The Little Red Schoolhouse."
Source: Sagaponack Common School District
The Hamptons village is primarily residential, but residents can dine at the local favorite Old Stove Pub, a Greek restaurant that sells a $2,280 bottle of French wine, according to Yelp.
Source: Yelp
Residents can sip on Hamptons-made wine and rosé cider and rub shoulders with celebrities at the upscale Wolffer Estate Vineyard.
Source: Wolffer Estate
Stars including the "Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi, Drew Barrymore, and Alec Baldwin have been spotted at events at the winery.
Source: Wolffer Estate
If sipping wine or lying on the beach isn't relaxing enough, residents can take a stroll through the Madoo Conservancy, a botanical garden in the heart of the village.
Source: Madoo Conservancy