Southampton - "No one is renting for 50 cents on the dollar," Beate Moore of Sotheby's International Realty in Bridgehampton said as the count down to Memorial Day weekend began. “No one is giving their houses away this season regardless of what you hear in the news."

Moore, a veteran real estate broker of some repute has been working with pricey rentals and sales in the Hamptons since 1997. She speaks four languages fluently and has a seemingly recession proof client and customer base. This season, the jewel in her rental crown was Nancy Corzine's oceanfront home in Sagaponack. The property, listed for rent at $900,000 for the season, running from Memorial Day to shortly after Labor Day, rented for its full asking price early in the season while media sages were making dire predictions for 2009 as the stock market plummeted and the economy slowed to alarming lows.

“Most of my customers and clients have returned again this year," Moore said, noting she is not experiencing a drop in business. “Of course some people are hurting. Whatever the case, my job is to do what I can to get them the most money for their property." For Moore, an integral part of that job is finding the model tenant. “If I sense any problems I don't get involved. It is not worth it."

Moore, along with many agents on the South Fork, is projecting optimism now that the late start to the rental season many predicted in the dead of winter appears to be gaining momentum. “The rental season is much better than I had anticipated a few months ago," Moore said.

Gary DePersia, a pace-setting agent at the Corcoran Group, reports a marked increase in customers looking for summer rentals during the week as well as on the weekends. With seven weeks to go before the Fourth of July DePersia was upbeat. “This is a good time to buy and it is a good time to rent. We still have inventory. Call me and come out and look," DePersia said as he fielded non-stop phone calls and participated in an interview at the same time.

Bargain hunters making low offers looking for the best deal in what they perceived to be a distressed market are finding themselves out in the cold as the warm weather approaches. Their low offers were refused, more customers hit the market with better offers snapping up houses the bargain hunters hoped to get for even less as the spring season advanced and Memorial Day weekend started closing in. The strategy failed, the best houses always go first, at the best prices.

Prices for a season in the sun are high in the Hamptons by any standards. A modest size three bedroom home south of the Montauk Highway with a pool will set you back $50,000 to $70,000 for the season depending on the house and its location.

In Amagansett, a newly renovated three bedroom beach house with a pool can be had for the full season from Memorial Day to Labor Day for $70,000. It's yours for the month of June for $15,000.

Many agents reported customers opting for a compromise vacation plan as they returned to a quality home for another summer but decided to rent for one month rather than the entire season. “That way, they still get the house they want, they just take it for a shorter time and they stay on budget," DePersia said. The upper echelon of renters in the stratosphere where money is no object booked their favorite rental house for the entire season. “They don't care if they don't come out until the end of June, they want the house for the season.

“People are starting to realize they don't want to be on the rooftop in the city with a spray bottle to keep cool, they want to be out here," DePersia said. “Landlords are negotiable and we have great inventory."

“A 40 percent price reduction is harsh," Moore said as she discussed negotiability and the art of the deal. “We are seeing 20 percent reductions on rental prices in some cases but 10 percent to 15 percent is more the norm."

Agents are quick to note negotiability varies with the landlord's desire to rent and their own financial situation. Prospective tenants empowered by news reports predicting the imminent collapse of the Hamptons summer rental market hit the streets hoping to cash in on desperation on the part of landlords that in many cases did not exist. Landlords who could afford not to rent refused initial low offers, opting to use their homes themselves rather than “give them away" for the summer.

“There is no one answer," DePersia said. “Some owners have to rent to get the income to carry the property and others don't." DePersia and other Corcoran agents reaped the benefits of their rental fair held at Corcoran's NYC location earlier this year. The fair was held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and captured the curious after work crowd who poured into their raw space filled with card tables, flowers, business cards and listings. “We got a lot of leads," DePersia said.

“I tell the landlord not to be insulted by a low offer," Moore said. “They can always say no." The simple “it's just business approach," and it seems to be working as many landlords who initially refused low ball offers, opting to wait it out rather than settle for a lot less than they were accustomed to getting in boom years, are now finding renters for their property.

Broker Joe Kazickas of Hamptons Rentals said, “we have landlords who are raising their prices." Kazickas and his associates at Rosehip Partners LLC created a unique website last year devoted to rentals in the Hamptons. The site, Hamptons Rentals, allows landlords to enter their own listing free of charge and make their own edits as the season progresses. The “hits" or responses to the listings go directly to the brokers at Hamptons Rentals. These agents screen the prospects, show the property and collect their commissions from the gross rental fee charged to the tenant. Kazickas noted 100 percent of the on-site edits have been from homeowners raising their prices. He also noted the gap between offers and listing prices is narrowing in favor of the owners. “We are not getting offers that are 50 percent of the listing price, they are coming in at 70 percent. It's working out very well," Kazickas said as he pointed to the success of his Internet venture. “The website has made all the difference."

Andrew Saunders, owner and principal broker at Saunders Real Estate in Bridgehampton is embarking on his first summer rental season after opening the doors to his impressive office on the Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton at the end of 2008. All eyes were on Saunders new agency when he opened his doors in a precarious market. “It was ugly this winter," Saunders said commenting on the challenging market, “but the last six weeks have been very surprising. Things are moving again."

“It's been crazy busy," Susan Brietenbach, a powerhouse broker at Corcoran said as she returned from vacation, attended a staff meeting, took customers out, then began returning phone calls. “There are tons more customers coming out. I've been doing this 18 years and I have never seen anything like this before. We are getting so busy. We have multiple offers." Then Brietenbach told a story as brokers often do during their workday. “I had a guy come out on Thursday and offer $125,000 for a rental. The next day another offer came in, and he ended up paying $135,000 on Friday to beat the other offer." That is music to any broker's ears. It also warms the heart of the homeowner. “Money is money," Brietenbach said. “No one wants to be silly and waste money but they want what they want."

Brietenbach attributes the flurry of activity to the stabilization of the stock market, as well as to the supply of inventory and the fact that there are deals to be had.

The bottom line everyone is looking for is a good season. “It's going to be great," DePersia said. “Call me and rent a house. There is still a lot of good inventory at the right price." As always, agents and homeowners are banking on the enduring beauty and desirability of the Hamptons. “Everyone wants to be here," Moore said.