Looking to escape into the world of luxury properties and agent drama during a pandemic? The latest real estate show, Million Dollar Beach House, will be released on Netflix Aug. 26 and provides a deep dive into five Nest Seekers agents and brokers working in the Hamptons.
Since the show finished filming and the coronavirus pandemic broke out, interest in the affluent New York enclave has only skyrocketed as city-dwellers rushed to find a property to spend the spring and summer at often unthinkable prices.
“Luckily all the filming was completed [before the outbreak],” Nest Seekers CEO and show producer Eddie Shapiro told Inman. “As we’re coming out of COVID lockdown and everyone is digesting what just happened in the past four or five months in the Hamptons, our market is probably the busiest we’ve ever seen it. As much as things got delayed, we couldn’t have asked for a better time for the show.”
Million Dollar Bech House features grandiose Hamptons properties and demanding clients, and is an East Coast spin in an entertainment market often dominated by the LA luxury scene. We had a chance to chat with the cast of the new Netflix series about luxury real estate, filming in the Hamptons and having a new show air in the middle of a pandemic.
Eddie Shapiro
Eddie Shapiro, show producer and president and CEO of Nest Seekers
Eddie Shapiro runs a team of nearly 1,000 agents working both in the Hamptons and New York City. To him, it has been most exciting to see Nest Seekers agents profiled at a time when the Hamptons is both in the spotlight and in the process of major change — they have been seeing more and more NYC residents look to buy primary properties in the area.
“Our show is different from your typical story of agents in the Hamptons because you really have a little bit more nuance,” Shapiro told Inman. “It is the story of relationships to the affluent consumers, who come from the city and the Northeast and how it all connects. The approach of our business in general is to operate across all these markets as though it were one marketplace rather than compartmentalizing agents in one area and one location.”
Noel Roberts, head of Nest Seekers Private Client
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Originally from Minnesota, Noel Roberts focuses on scoring big deals and high-net clients as the the lead of the brokerage’s Private Client practice. He comes from a background in raising capital for commercial and residential developers and now focuses on sales and client relationships. Roberts made the switch to Nest Seekers a little over a year ago and is one of the most experienced luxury brokers in the Hamptons.
“When you’re dealing with $10, $20, $30 million homes, these are significant assets in people’s portfolios,” Roberts told Inman. “There’s a tremendous amount of pressure to perform. Our buyers and sellers don’t care about the cameras. They want to know if you’re going to perform under pressure within what is often a very limited time frame.”
Peggy Zabakolas, associate broker and team lead
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While a licensed attorney, Peggy Zabakolas’ career has always revolved around real estate. Before law school, she worked in the commercial sector of the industry. She has been with Nest Seekers for nearly a decade, and after working as a luxury broker in New York, branched out to the Hamptons to lead a team of agents. Zabakolas also regularly appears as a real estate television commentator and has a role on Million Dollar Listing New York.
“I was originally in New York City as a real estate broker and I had a lot of contacts and a lot of buyers who were going to the Hamptons,” Zabakolas told Inman. “Nest Seekers was the only company that would allow me to start a business in the Hamptons which, I think, shows its out-of-the-box way of thinking.”
Michael Fulfree, agent
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Michael Fulfree worked as a model for brands like Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana and Armani before beginning his real estate career. On the show, he focuses on matching clients with their dream property and recently brought on his best friend JB Andreassi to the firm.
“We’re really seeing people rethink their home base and where they’re going to live,” Fulfree said. “People are looking for more. We’re seeing a huge influx of New York City buyers coming into the Hamptons market, looking for primary homes instead of secondary homes. People are saying year-long. The amount of people that are looking for homes completely outweighs what’s available.”
James Giugliano, agent
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Born and raised in Southampton, James Giugliano has more than 10 years experience selling properties in the area. He acts as a mentor and “dad” figure to the rest of the team on the show, particularly when it comes to building client relationships.
“I come from a developer family; my dad’s been a home luxury home and institutional builder in the Hamptons for the last 30 years,” Giugliano told Inman. “I wanted to take a lot of the lessons I learned and the connections I made over the last 30 years to come back and pursue a career in real estate as an agent but also to build and evolve my father’s business.”
JB Andreassi, agent
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Another Hamptons native, JB Andreassi came back home and received his real estate license after a career in finance in the city. Much of the show focuses on him learning the market and earning the respect of the rest of the team.
“JB went to an Ivy League school, I went to Milan and we ended up at the same brokerage and on the same show,” Fulfree said of his friend.
