Linguist, lexicographer, radio host, public speaker

“The Market on High,” by Scoop Drummond, from Hamptons

;Staying power is king. The question is: will the ways of the real world finally hit the fantasyland of the Hamptons? There are currently more eight-digit homes for sale here than ranch houses in Rochester. Will that change? Or, does the local landscape become only momentarily inconvenienced by world events? Buyers ultimately make the market. Supply and demand. The fact that Billy Joel walked away from a $2 million deposit on a property this summer had nothing to do with a faltering economy or a rethinking of sounder financial principles—but, rather, just the vagaries of a real estate junkie venting. Riding around these days, one sees Hamptons brokers’ “for sale” signs as prevalent as the withered autumn corn. The super-duper offerings never have signs in front of them, so field trips down Further, Lily Pond, Gin, Ocean and Meadow Lanes don’t reveal much. Go down the lesser lanes and byways, and you’ll see a only a smattering of what’s for sale. Maybe the brokers should start a new trend and put the prices on the signs, giving sticker shock a new meaning.

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Grant Barrett