Inside a $150 million Hamptons summer home for sale

An oceanfront estate in Southampton, listed at $150 million, stands as the priciest home for sale in the Hamptons — and is struggling to move off the market.

The compound, called La Dune, is likely to be used as a summer home and draws from a tiny pool of buyers, probably billionaires, who could afford to foot the bill. Even in the Hamptons, $100-million-plus sales are few and far between.

La Dune, named after the sandy dune it sits behind, spans about four acres, across two adjacent lots with two homes, two swimming pools and a sunken tennis court.

It hasn’t been easy to find a buyer for the sprawling compound, which includes a classic Hamptons-style shingled main residence, originally built more than 100 years ago, and a second home on the adjacent lot, built in the early 2000s.

“This house is the furthest thing from a tear down, but if the house wasn’t here, this lot alone, each one of them would be worth $50 million,” listing agent Shawn Elliott of Nest Seekers told CNBC.

And Elliott promises La Dune’s price isn’t just designed to grab headlines.

“I believe this is, 100%, a very realistic price point to attract buyers in this market place,” said Elliott, who co-lists the home with Geoff Gifkins. 

The estate is situated on 400-plus feet of super-prime beachfront along Gin Lane, sometimes referred to as “billionaire’s beach.” It’s one of the most exclusive strips of white sand in the world.

“In real estate we always know it’s location, location, location, that’s not a cliche,” Elliot said. “You are truly on the 50 yard line of nothing but wealth.”

Back in 2016 La Dune’s owner, art magazine publisher and collector Louise Blouin, put the estate on the market with Sotheby’s International at an asking price of $140 million. At the time, there were no takers.

Over the years, the residence has been listed as a summer rental. This year a one-month stay would set you back $1.2 million. 

Since 2016, the home’s been on and off the market, and Blouin has reportedly faced a potential foreclosure and bankruptcy court proceedings to maintain control of the compound. 

She re-listed La Dune in August with a new brokerage firm and raised the ask to $150 million.

If the team at Nest Seekers gets anywhere near what their client wants for the compound, it will break an all-time record in the Hamptons.

According to public records analyzed by Jonathan Miller, president of the real estate appraisal and consulting company Miller Samuel, only five compounds have ever sold for more than $100 million in the Hamptons. 

The all-time record is still held by the 2014 sale of three separate but contiguous lots spanning 16 acres located at 60-64 Further Lane…