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Showing some of the most sublime properties Out East keeps Kyle Rosko and Marcy Braun of the Eklund Gomes team at Douglas Elliman extremely busy all summer long, but the action doesn’t taper off after Labor Day! Rosko talks us through the latest dream homes to know, plus the creative process of capturing content that makes sales happen.
How’s summer been treating you?
We’ve gotten super interesting inventory. It’s exciting to see some special properties come to market, and there’s a lot of showing and demand, just a lot of interest across the board, and contracts being signed. Also, sellers are starting to be more reasonable; they’re understanding the correct market pricing and are listening to our guidance. A couple of big clients are back in the marketplace that had completely disappeared for the winter, and it’s nice to see them return.
Kyle Rosko and Marcy Braun
What leads sellers to resurface on the market in early summer?
It has to do with timing: When people come back to their houses for the season, they have an idea of if they’re actually going to be there constantly or not. Maybe they were considering selling and then get real and say, “All right, we’re not going to be using this house; it’s not right for our family anymore, and we’re ready to list.” But they have to cross that threshold when they’re ready.
What happens next for these recommitted sellers?
There’s a lot of preparation for the fall, and summer is when you want to capture content of these properties, so they can be perfect and ready when you list them. Even if you want to list in September or October, you have to plan ahead and shoot everything in advance, in the summer. It’s amazing to be on these properties when they’re vibrant and at their absolute best. We’ve been shooting a lot; June was filled with content creation, and we were busy getting assets for these beautiful properties we’re going to be listing starting in September.
72 Shore Road, Amagansett
Do you enjoy that content creation aspect of your work?
Yes, it’s the creative side of this job and something that I’m so grateful for! I’m a photographer in whatever free time I have; I’m always capturing and gathering content. I’m super active on the socials, and I love doing it, because it’s a creative outlet for me. It’s a beautiful way to tell stories about these properties. We’ve been working with DroneHub Media, and they’re some of the best in the business. I enjoy working with different teams on these beautiful videos and telling the narrative. I’m a surfer, and for a bunch of oceanfront houses I’m selling, I’ve captured footage of me surfing in front of the houses, then panning up to the houses. You get the entire lifestyle with these videos, they show all the things you can do without leaving home at these spectacular properties.
What are some haute houses of the moment?
We’ve got an oceanfront under $10 million that’s super active. In less than a week on the market, I’d already shown it 10 times, with multiple offers expected. I’m happy about an off-market oceanfront in Montauk, too. It’s a designer-owned masterpiece, more than three acres, which is unbelievably massive for an oceanfront property. And our 22 Maple Street property now has a new price; it’s a stunning build.
488 Ocean Road, Bridgehampton
Beyond Montauk, what are your most exciting listings?
The artist barn that we listed with twin artist studios at 488 Ocean Road in Bridgehampton is spectacular; it’s just a genius culmination of creativity of these two artists who created this home together from a potato barn over the past 32 years. It is unbelievable; it’s just magic to see. Every single detail that they put into this home, that they loved, and lived in for years. They’re in their nineties now and still thriving, but they realized they probably need some help and can’t be in this house anymore; that’s the only reason they’re selling. It’s south of the highway, a mile from the beach, just the most unique property. It could be a party barn, a studio space, or overflow for guests. And I have a new construction in Sag Harbor, 11 Westwood Drive, on the water that will be delivered in July 2025, with a deepwater dock and a bulkhead. It shows value in the marketplace; it’s a nice example of how beautiful you can build something that’s priced under $4 million.
What market trends are you seeing lately?
The under-$2 million market is just constant; it’s always going to be active. We’re not seeing changes in that whatsoever. We are seeing the upper end of the market has ticked up quite a bit; the $7 million to $15 range has been super active since early July. Because that’s when buyers come back out; you just have to see these homes to buy them.
18 Maple Street, Montauk
When is your busiest season of showings?
Leading up to the summer is probably the peak, and there’s that early July wave when everyone moves back into their houses; the middle of the season is steady but not absolutely bananas. People are trying to enjoy their homes and their summer, and we respect that. It’s harder to get into houses in the middle of the season because they’re either rented or being enjoyed by the people who live there. It gets super serious mid-August, because people feel like, “Summer is over. We either love it here, or we don’t like our house and we want to go shopping, look around, see what’s here.”
Scheduling showings must be a juggling act.
There’s a lot of no’s that happen, a lot of, “No, thanks, we’re not showing.” Some stuff comes off-market, which I don’t usually recommend during season, when it should be visible, but if it’s a no-go on showing, you kind of have to take it off the market. Otherwise, you’ll get interest in people wanting to see it, then there’s a no. If a seller isn’t willing to show it, you can’t be spending the energy or creating any tension. It has to be a fluid process.
How was your client appreciation party earlier this summer?
It was incredible! We had a great DJ, Oli Benz, who’s a legend and a good friend of mine. There was a BuddhaBerry truck and an oyster-shucking person. A whole video team was there, capturing the entire event so we can share how we’re celebrating our clients. It’s a chance to touch base with lots of existing clients, and we invite them to bring their friends. So now, multiple developers that I don’t have relationships with yet are connected with us. It’s an open invitation to bring more people into our world, share what we’re doing.
What does fall look like for you once the summer’s deal-making action is over. Does your schedule calm down somewhat?
No! It just rips all the way through October. It starts then and then it just tears through the rest of the sell season in the fall.
Sounds busy! Any fun travel plans on the horizon?
I have to go to Europe at some point, to Sweden—a friend of a friend retrofitted an 800-foot government ice-breaking boat into a private yacht, and I’m supposed to go check it out, celebrate the finish of this boat.
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