Netflix Doubles Down on People’s Affinity for Real Estate Reality Shows with ‘Million Dollar Beach House’

A not-so-subtle mix of ‘Million Dollar Listing’ and ‘Selling Sunset’, the new Netflix show brings you a little less drama, more coastline listings.

Georgie Mihaila
7 Min Read

If you’ve just finished watching the newest season of Selling Sunset and don’t know where you’ll be getting your next fix of luxury listings (with a side of real estate drama), we know just what you need: Netflix’s newest reality show, Million Dollar Beach House.

A not-so-subtle mix of Million Dollar Listing and Selling Sunset, the new Netflix show follows an up-an-coming team of real estate agents with NestSeekers International, documenting their private lives and posh coastline listings.

And if you thought the show will be set somewhere on the West Coast, especially given its name, Million Dollar Beach House takes us away from more familiar settings like Los Angeles, Miami, or New York City, and transports us to the Hamptons, one of America’s most elite summer vacation destinations — with homes to match.

Patti Shack, house featured in the first episode of Million Dollar Beach House
Patti Shack, house featured in the first episode of Million Dollar Beach House. Image credit: NETFLIX © 2020

What the show is all about

To sum it up: million-dollar summer homes in the Hamptons and the energetic real estate agents that sell them. The show sets itself apart from other real estate reality TV series by cutting it a little short on the drama, and focusing more on the actual listings.

That’s not to say that the cast members aren’t competitive as hell and won’t be at each other’s throats; with 2,500 agents working the Hamptons market, all competing for six-figure commissions, things are bound to get messy.

Nevertheless, Million Dollar Beach House seems to step away from the heavy drama and extensive focus on the personal lives of its cast members that Selling Sunset brings to the table. So if that’s what kept you from watching Netflix’s first real estate show, you should definitely give this one a try.

Million Dollar Beach House agents touring one of their listings
Million Dollar Beach House agents touring one of their listings. Image credit: NETFLIX © 2020

The location itself — and its out-of-this-world listings — also makes the show particularly appealing.

The Hamptons, with more than two dozen villages and hamlets on Long Island, has long been one of the most sought-after vacation destinations in the U.S., with many rich celebrities, hedge fund managers, CEOs, socialites, and politicians owning multi-million dollar summer homes in the area.

Buying real estate in the Hamptons has always been prohibitively expensive, and the prices are now skyrocketing with wealthy New Yorkers fleeing to the beach post-pandemic.

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In fact, even outside the luxury real estate market, the median price of a single-family home in the Hamptons reached a record $1.1 million in the second quarter of 2020, an increase of 25% over last year, according to a recent report.

The average sale price hit $2.1 million, as the sale of several eight-figure mansions (which you can expect to see a bunch of in the Netflix-made reality show) drove up the average.

21 Kellis Way in Bridgehampton, a $7M property featured on Million Dollar Beach House
21 Kellis Way in Bridgehampton, a $7M property featured on Million Dollar Beach House. Image credit: NETFLIX © 2020

Adding to the allure of the Hamptons is the fact that many of the top restaurants, art galleries, stores and luxury brands in Manhattan have opened outposts there, following the wealthy buyers.

That’s given full-time residents more to see and do and pulled even more business from New York City.

This is also, in part, what drew much of the series’ cast to the area; many of the real estate agents featured on the show have also traded the crowded (and hectic) Manhattan scene for a more serene and profitable life and career in the Hamptons.

The cast of ‘Million Dollar Beach House’

With a somewhat diverse cast — at least compared to other shows in the same range — Million Dollar Beach house features five real estate agents, Michael Fulfree, Noel Roberts. Peggy Zabakolas Esq, JB Andreassi, and James Giugliano, all with Nest Seekers International (the same brokerage company that employs MDLNY’s Ryan Serhant).

the entire cast of Million Dollar Beach House on Netflix
Million Dollar Beach House cast. Image credit: NETFLIX

The agents have vastly different backgrounds; Michael Fulfree is a former model, who worked gigs around the world with designers like Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, and Alexander McQueen, while his childhood buddy, JB Andreassi, formerly worked for the National Hockey League’s business development team before venturing into real estate.

Peggy Zabakolas, the female lead on the show, traded a career in law for a very successful real estate run in Manhattan. After years of selling pricey penthouses and upscale condos in the city, Peggy moved to the Hamptons, with the show following her first summer selling real estate in the area.

Noel Roberts, the most stylish and sophisticated member of the team, is a former ping-pong champion (competing alongside his twin brother, Joel) that only deals with the brokerage’s most exclusive clients. According to House Beautiful, Roberts runs his own digital lifestyle and real estate magazine called HamptonsSpectator.com where he writes about some of the most deluxe properties in the area.

Noel/Joel Roberts in the first season of Million Dollar Beach House
Noel and Joel Roberts in the first season of Million Dollar Beach House. Image credit: NETFLIX © 2020

That leaves us with James Giugliano (or Jimmy), the show’s get-it-done agent, that’s busy closing deals while the others fight over properties.

He’s also the more experienced one in the bunch, and very familiar with the local market; in 2019, Jimmy sold the number one and number three biggest listings in the Hamptons, earning substantial commissions from the high-profile transactions.

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With a decade-long career as a digital content creator, Georgie started out as a real estate journalist for Multi-Housing News & CPExecutive. She later transitioned into digital marketing, working with leading real estate websites like PropertyShark, RENTCafé and Point2Homes. After a brief but impactful stint in the start-up world, where she led the marketing divisions of fintech company NestReady and media publisher Goalcast, Georgie returned to her first passion, real estate, and founded FancyPantsHomes.com