Wall Street bonus bonanza fuels Hamptons spending spree.

“There’s still a lot of money out there,” he added. “People are now realizing that after the pandemic, there’s very limited inventory.”

In the fourth quarter of last year, the average sale price reached nearly $3.5 million, according to a report by appraiser Miller Samuel for Douglas Elliman.

Brokers said after a quiet summer, sales in posh areas like East Hampton, Southampton and Sag Harbor started to pick up in November as financiers learned of their record payouts. Average securities bonuses climbed to over $244,000 and total annual pay averaged $505,630 – nearly five times the city norm – according to New York State Comptroller DiNapoli.

“All of a sudden, towards the end of the year, people were getting their numbers for their bonuses. November, December, and January — those months have been very, very busy for us out here,” said Douglas Elliman agent Michael Brennan, who noted about half of his clients are in finance.

There were just 1,070 Hamptons listings in the final three months of last year, up just 0.6% from 2024, Miller Samuel found.

Meanwhile, sales of $20 million-plus properties rocketed 59% to 27 deals for all of 2025, down from 17 the year before, a report by William Raveis found.

The $5 million to $10 million bracket notched 209 transactions, and the $10 million to $20 million bracket hit 77, the report found.

Less expensive homes have “gone out to sea,” said Desiderio, who lamented that essential workers such as teachers and nurses have been getting priced out.