In April, Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, purchased an East Hampton boutique for $22 million—a new record price for commercial real estate in the tony beachside community. At $4,400 per square foot, it wasn’t just a big deal locally: That number also exceeds the average rates for retail space in prime areas of Hong Kong, Milan, London, Paris, Tokyo and even Manhattan’s Upper Fifth Avenue (49th to 60th streets), where, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield, an annual average rent of $2,000 per square foot made it the world’s most expensive shopping street in 2022.
While record-topping residential real estate sales are commonplace in the Hamptons, commercial properties here have not historically seen the same demand. That’s changing as East Hampton finds itself in the midst of an unprecedented retail boom, driven by the spending power of a population that’s become less and less seasonal. Local agents estimate that overall commercial lease prices have increased by about 25% in the past 12 to 24 months, thanks to a spike in demand.
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