Brokers are optimistic creatures.
So it’s notable when the top dealmakers in the sunny hamlets of the Hamptons admit to a cloudy market.
“Nothing was a layup. It was more of a grind,” said Saunders & Associates’ Vincent Horcasitas, who ranked 10th in The Real Deal’s latest ranking of the top-producing agents on the South Fork.
“Things are selling, but it’s a struggle,” added Douglas Elliman’s Paul Brennan. “Every deal is a difficult deal.”
Brokers cited the typical bugaboos that gave buyers and sellers pause: political instability, tariffs and interest rates.
“Everybody is getting used to the new way of doing business,” said Compass’ Chris Coleman, who placed seventh. “There were some pockets of activity, some gridlock.”
The top 20 agents did $3.7 billion in sales across 612 transactions for an average deal size of more than $6 million. The rankings are based on both buy- and sell-side transactions over $1 million between June 2024 and June 2025 from publicly available listings and data provided by brokerages.
There were no nine-figure deals tracked this year. Instead, the top 20 agents more than doubled the number of transactions annually. (In The Real Deal’s prior ranking, the top 20 agents did $3.1 billion in sales across 349 transactions, for an average deal size of more than $8.7 million.)
“It’s not built on selling $20 million homes,” Horcasitas said of carving out a sustainable business. “People think it’s done on these big trades; it’s a lot about hitting the singles and doubles to have a good year.”
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New faces, old places
With brokers needing to pull out all the stops to get deals over the finish line, there was opportunity for those willing to do the work to shine.
“In a down market, the real players come out of the woods,” Horcasitas said.
Brennan and fellow Elliman agent Martha Gundersen made huge leaps this year — No. 5 Brennan wasn’t ranked last year, and No. 2 Gundersen finished 17th last year — after bringing the buyer to the South Fork’s largest deal, a $70 million whopper at 370 and 372 Further Lane.
For New Yorkers, a recognizable name made it into the top 20 this year: Compass’ Hudson Advisory Team, which has dominated TRD’s ranking of Manhattan brokers for the past two years. The cohort, run by Clayton Orrigo and Stephen Ferrara, didn’t rank last year, but the team claimed the 17th spot with $115.9 million in sales.
Corcoran’s Gary DePersia, who hasn’t been ranked since at least 2022, finished the period with nearly $135 million across 21 deals to earn 13th place. Among those deals was a $25 million home on 9 Hither Lane, a listing he shared with Gundersen and Brennan, which actor Sylvester Stallone purchased in the fall.
One constant has been Bespoke’s Cody Vichinsky, who retained his top spot in the rankings for the third straight year after doing 30 deals for more than $443 million.
“It’s not just Cody,” he said, pointing to his firm’s brokerage model that pays salaried employees who work in business development, as opposed to contracted agents. “It’s a whole host of people that are helping to do all the things right.”
More homes hit the market at large in the past year, but the kind of properties Vichinsky trades in — homes asking more than $10 million, often with access to the water or views of preserved land — are few and far between. At a time when macroeconomic uncertainty has deterred some sellers, Vichinsky said that convincing them to take the plunge has been a challenge.
“For the first time in my career, it’s been harder to sort of wedge out opportunity,” said Vichinsky.
Compass’ Evan Kulman, whose Kulman Harrison team placed 12th with about $152 million in sales, emphasized the role of “behind-the-scenes conversations” in spurring business.
“[We’re] having those conversations all year long, every year, and just getting a feel for who may be interested in the right number to sell,” said Kulman.
No more McMansions in East Hampton
New development hit a snag in March when East Hampton Town passed new zoning regulations limiting the size of homes built on the stretch between Sagaponack and Montauk. The rules cap the size of a house to 7 percent of the lot plus 1,500 square feet, compared to the previous allowance of 10 percent plus 1,600 square feet.
No. 14 Dana Trotter, who co-founded the Agency’s East Hampton-based franchise with Tyler Whitman, said she saw developers and homeowners show up in droves to oppose the legislation.
“If someone has a house that they’ve owned for 20 or 30 years, and now the building restrictions are such that they can’t do much on it, it devalues their lot,” said Trotter.
On the flip side, the change will likely boost values of existing homes that exceed size restrictions — or send buyers to Southampton, where building restrictions aren’t quite as onerous (though building anywhere in the Hamptons is often a Herculean effort).
“All my builders are going to Southampton,” said Saunders & Associates’ Ed Bruehl, who, with partner Jennifer Wilson, earned the ninth spot. “The local NIMBYs don’t like a big, 10,000-square-foot house breathing down the neck of their 2,000-square-foot house.”
The new zoning could dampen prospects in East Hampton, but potential teardowns in Southampton appear alive and well. Earlier this year, Corcoran’s Susan Breitenbach — No. 4 — sold 125 and 128 Dune Road for $18 million to developer Kristen Farrell, who’s reportedly already shopping the home. Construction, estimated at $65 million, won’t be completed until 2027.
But not everyone is giving up on East Hampton. Breitenbach said she’s working with a seller who listed a Sagaponack lot with development plans asking around $7 million.
Vichinsky said he’s optimistic that there are gems for buyers willing to put in the elbow grease.
“There’s really good land properties out there or teardown properties out there,” he said. “If you’re willing to do the work.”
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