Welcome to It Happened One Weekend, our weekly roundup of The New York Times real estate section...
1) Rich people. What are they spending millions of dollars on? What are they complaining about? This is What's Up With Rich People?
Billy Joel is Movin' Out (of his East End home). After listing his four-bedroom beachfront property in Sagaponack for $16.75 million last year, the asking price was recently raised to $23.5 million. The Times attributes this hike to, in part, a $26 million beach-nourishment project that will expand the shoreline 75 to 100 feet. Area brokers claim that the project has boosted confidence in the market, which has suffered recently in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Meanwhile, over on the Jersey Shore, property owners are basically threatening to fortify their homes and secede over the same issue. Up the Rebels! Down the Christie! ["Shoring Up Hamptons Beaches, and Prices, Too"; photo via Victoria Belanger/Curbed Photo Pool]
2) Every "The Hunt" column begins with the Hunters describing the apartment they want, and ends with them rationalizing whatever they came away with. This is The Hunt: Dreams vs. Reality
The Hunter: transplant looking to buy
Price
Dream: $1.5 million
Reality: $1.15 million+renovations
Neighborhood
Dream: Chelsea/Midtown
Reality: Chelsea
Amenities
Dream: 2BR/2BA, washer-dryer
Reality: 2BR/1BR, sunny
Summary
Since this week's Hunter works in New Jersey, he was hoping to buy an apartment within walking distance of Penn Station, so as not to further complicate an already hellish commute. He wanted a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with a washer-dryer for under $1.5 million, and he began to look around the neighborhood in which he was renting: Chelsea. He eventually paid $1.15 million for a two-bedroom on West 23rd, though there's no second bathroom or washer-dryer, and he's currently sinking $200,000 into renovations. [The Hunt/"Walk to Train Essential"]