Near-oceanfront trailer in the Hamptons lists for $2.49M

For just under $2.5 million, a buyer can now claim a slice of Montauk paradise — with two bedrooms, 1.5 baths and an ocean-facing deck perched above the waves of Ditch Plains. 

The catch? It’s a manufactured trailer.

The 925-square-foot residence, asking $2.49 million, sits at the southeastern corner of Montauk Shores, a gated trailer park community that has become one of the most coveted — and curious — destinations for 1 percenters in the Hamptons. 

The home, which aerials show stands mere steps from the ocean, offers panoramic views of the Atlantic, a double-width floor plan, and, according to listing representative John Scott Thomas of Brown Harris Stevens, “a gigantic attic.”

“This unit happens to be really well-positioned,” he told The Post. “It’s in very good condition” and near-oceanfront homes tend to command significantly higher asking prices, he added.

Montauk Shores, established more than 65 years ago, was once a modest refuge for surfers and blue-collar vacationers. Today, it’s a transformed landscape of 199 homes — ranging from aging trailers to bespoke modular rebuilds — spread across 152 owned and 47 leased lots. 

The entire community is tucked just inland from Montauk’s famed Ditch Plains Beach, one of the East End’s premier surf breaks.

“All of them were trailers way back when,” Thomas said. “This specific one is a manufactured unit. But a lot of them, like the Hummel one that broke the price barrier at $3.75 million, was rebuilt as a custom home.”

The soaring prices at Montauk Shores have redefined what a trailer park can be.

What began as a low-cost alternative to beachfront living has become a surprising haven for millionaires, even billionaires, seeking a casual, yet ocean-adjacent, getaway.

While it’s still significantly cheaper than the East Hampton or Amagansett oceanfronts, prices at Montauk Shores have risen dramatically — especially for the rare units that come with full land ownership.

“There’s very little turnover,” Thomas said. “No one’s really put anything up for sale.” 

As of now, he noted, only five properties are on the market in the community. Two include land ownership, while the remaining three are leased-lot arrangements.

The last owned unit sold in May 2023 for $1.9 million, and another has lingered on the market since last year — likely due to its distance from the water, Thomas said.

The appeal of Montauk Shores, he added, lies not only in its location but in the culture that surrounds it. 

“As much as it pains many locals to see, that’s what we’re seeing out there,” Thomas said of the evolution. “It is by far the easiest and closest and probably cheapest way to be on the ocean. It continues to be that way.”

And it’s not just seasonal visitors looking for a quirky beachfront crash pad. Many of today’s buyers already own Hamptons homes — or even city penthouses — and see Montauk Shores as a supplemental retreat: a convenient, low-maintenance space steps from the surf.

“You’re seeing lots of people who have big houses that are not on the water, but they want something to play with,” Thomas said. “These units fit the bill, they are doing it — especially if you’re a surfer, it’s the best place to surf on the East End.”

The listing at Unit No. 701 includes an open kitchen, living and dining areas oriented toward the ocean, and a utility room with a full-sized washer and dryer. A separate shed offers space for storing surfboards and beach gear. 

Across the street, residents can access a manicured cliffside overlook complete with benches and a stairway leading directly to the sand.

The current owner rebuilt the unit in 2015. He and his late wife used it primarily as a vacation property before deciding to relocate upstate. 

According to Thomas, the low roofline could be reimagined during a future renovation, though the home’s structure already offers unusual width and potential for reconfiguration.

“This is someone’s way of getting in,” Thomas said. “The Hamptons have increased in value and have become more of a millionaire, billionaire paradise.”

That upward trajectory means the days of snagging a beachfront trailer for a few hundred thousand dollars are definitively over. 

“To have oceanfront, anything south of the highway, which is south of [Route] 27, that cuts all the way down the fork to the end of Montauk … there’s no way possible that you would see anything under five million [dollars],” Thomas said. “Even a dump that you would mow down, somebody would buy it — you’re just buying it for the land because land is so scarce.”

Still, Montauk Shores remains a coastal anomaly: a throwback enclave with basketball courts, heated pools and playgrounds. 

“The community itself is super sweet,” Thomas said. “It’s lovely. It’s definitely like a time capsule that you truly wouldn’t ever expect in the Hamptons.”

As demand for Hamptons homes continues to intensify — and oceanfront land grows more scarce — Montauk’s humble trailer park may be one of the last bastions of surfside access for under eight figures. Just don’t expect the prices to stay modest for long.

“It’s tough,” Thomas said. “It’s really tough.”