Hamptons homeowners reportedly launch fire sale ahead of possible tax rate jump Homeowners in the Hamptons - the tony section of New York's Long Island - have reportedly launched a fire sale, offering low prices to dump their properties before higher capital gains tax rates are expected in 2013. The New York Daily News reports that high-end brokers expect more than 30 closings on luxury properties priced from $1 million to $25 million. "There is a frenzy here right now," Enzo Morabito, a long-time Hamptons-based broker with Douglas Elliman, told the newspaper. People know they save money if they sell now. I have very willing sellers and hot buyers who want to take advantage of the low interest rates that might go away next year as well. Morabito reported eight closings on transactions involving his team before New Year's Day, including a $14.9 million estate in Water Mill and a $6.9 million mansion in Bridgehampton. "They know they lose money if they wait till next year," he told the newspaper The rate of capital gains taxes may rise as high as 39 percent on short-term investments during negotiations over the so-called "fiscal cliff" to close a growing budget gap. Click for more from The New York Daily News.