Filipino developer Robbie Antonio is setting his sights on a larger share of the Hamptons luxury housing market, where home prices remain resilient despite a slowdown in sales.
Antonio, chief executive officer of J. Antonio Group Inc., has already completed four speculative home projects in the Hamptons, with properties selling for between $6 million and $12.5 million.
He is now looking for opportunities to develop larger projects priced at $15 million to $35 million, putting his company deeper into one of the most exclusive residential markets in the United States.
For a Filipino developer with projects and business interests spanning the Philippines and the United States, the expansion gives Antonio a foothold in a market where scarcity continues to support high property values.
“The best markets are not always the easiest markets,” Antonio said. “But when a location has scarcity, heritage, and long-term demand, quality projects can still command attention.”
The Hamptons, located on the eastern end of Long Island, include communities such as Southampton, East Hampton, Quogue, Westhampton and Montauk.
The area has long attracted wealthy buyers looking for waterfront properties, privacy and proximity to New York City.
But the market has become more selective.
According to The Corcoran Report for the East End, single-family closings on the South Fork fell 16 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, reaching their lowest second-quarter level in more than a decade.
Despite fewer transactions, prices continued to rise.
The median sale price increased 26 percent to $2.4 million, while the average sale price rose 15 percent to $3.857 million.
The North Fork showed a similar pattern, with sales down 9 percent while the average sale price increased 10 percent. At the luxury end, the average sale price jumped 77 percent.
The figures point to a market where reduced transaction activity has not necessarily translated into lower prices, particularly for properties with limited supply and strong locations.
“In a market like the Hamptons, slower sales activity does not necessarily mean weaker value,” Antonio said. “When supply is limited and buyers are highly selective, the premium is created by location, design, and execution.”
The scale of the market is reflected in its most expensive transactions.
The Hamptons’ record sale remains the $147 million purchase by hedge fund manager Barry Rosenstein in 2014 of three adjoining properties on Further Lane in East Hampton.
A 2025 sale of media executive Terry Semel’s East Hampton estate to billionaire Len Blavatnik was reportedly valued at $115 million.
For Antonio, the market also builds on his earlier experience in New York luxury real estate.
He founded Antonio Development after earning an economics degree from Northwestern University and an MBA from Stanford University.
The company developed The Centurion in Manhattan’s Plaza District near Central Park.
His real estate career has since extended across the Philippines and the United States, including residential projects developed with international architects, designers and luxury brands.
His Hamptons projects have so far given him direct exposure to a market where buyers are highly selective and properties can command multimillion-dollar prices.
Rather than pull back as transactions slow, Antonio is pursuing larger projects in the area.
The planned $15 million-to-$35 million developments would move his company closer to the Hamptons’ ultra-luxury segment, where a small number of high-value transactions can have a significant effect on overall market figures.
Antonio said the strategy is based on the long-term characteristics of the market rather than short-term sales volume.
“The Hamptons remain a long-term market,” he said. “When supply is limited and the buyer base is global, the opportunity is not just to build more, but to build better.”
For a Filipino developer expanding in the US, the move also highlights how Philippine real estate firms and entrepreneurs are seeking opportunities in highly specialized overseas property markets where scarcity, wealth and location continue to command a premium.
Photo courtesy of Commercial Observer
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