Episode 271 - The Jennifer Wilson Team and Josh Brussell

July 23, 2026 | Discussing Hero Volley and Montauk Real Estate

We’re joined by a packed group, including Josh Brussel and the Jennifer Wilson Team, to preview Hero Valley’s Montauk beach volleyball week, bringing Olympic and pro athletes to town with free public events, music, food, and an up-close chance to meet the players. 

We dig into the mission behind it: raising money for East Hampton’s Junior Lifeguard program and supporting the next generation of strong ocean swimmers. Josh also breaks down the clinics, the welcome party, and the Pro-Am tournament format, where locals, lifeguards, and visiting talent share the sand.

Then we switch gears to the Hamptons Real Estate Market  Report data for the week of July 14, 2026. We spotlight a Montauk opportunity at 64 Fairview Avenue with a price reduction to $1,495,000, discuss what “entry level” really means in Montauk, and share a weekly market snapshot from Westhampton to Montauk including new listings, homes in contract, dollar volume, and why the $1M to $2M band stays so competitive. 

If you care about Montauk lifestyle, Hamptons housing trends, or smart timing as we head toward late summer, you’ll leave with a clearer read on what’s happening now and what to watch next.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the weekly breakdown, share this with a friend planning time out East, and leave a review telling us what Hamptons topic you want next.

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Transcript

Welcome And Sponsor Shoutout

Andrew Doud 0:08

It's Thursday everyone. I'm Andrew Doud. Time for a Happening in the Hamptons podcast, our weekly breakdown of the Hamptons market, new listings and events on the East End. We are sponsored by New York Title Abstract, the Hamptons leading title insurance firm. Visit NewYorkTitle.com. We have a packed house today. Steve Glick, Dave Rattiner, Josh Brussel, and the Jen Wilson team. How is everybody?

Jennifer Iwlson 0:31

Good, good.

Andrew Doud 0:32

We are like super full. We have live, let's see, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight people, five mics. We're gonna make this work. So um let's start with

Hero Valley Brings Volleyball To Montauk

Andrew Doud 0:42

you, Josh. Josh, welcome in. Obviously, you've not been a guest on this podcast, but you were just saying you are a longtime friend of Jen Wilson's um and the family. So what brings you in today?

Josh Brussel 0:52

Uh I'm here because I'm doing an event with my company Hero Valley out in Montauk. And uh we're bringing in Olympic athletes and we're gonna play, and we have a whole bunch of stuff going on, free to the public, live music, um, food, and a lot of fun. And okay, so

Why Lifeguard Training Matters

Josh Brussel 1:08

when's this? This is gonna be uh the tournament itself is Thursday, July 30th, so week from today. Okay. It's a big event, but we have youth clinics Tuesday, July 28th, and we have some events and a welcome party on July 29th at the Montaucket.

Andrew Doud 1:22

Oh wow. And Jen, you were saying this is all gonna help the East Hampton Lifeguard. Am I saying that right now?

Jennifer Iwlson 1:30

Um, they run the Junior Lifeguard program, which is an incredible program. All these kids learn how to really be safe in the ocean, and a lot of them go on to be uh our ocean lifeguards out here. So this is a fundraiser completely uh for this this event.

Andrew Doud 1:48

Listen, let me tell you, I was at the beach uh last weekend, and you know, I got I got two girls, seven and eight, and we're sitting in front of the lifeguard stand, they're just playing in the ocean, right? Whatever, and all of a sudden, there's a woman that's stuck out there. Um, I guess she was caught in the rip, couldn't get back in. The lifeguards act so fast and like such a good team, you know what I mean? And it's really and they're always out there training. This is this is Hampton Bay's, but same, same thing, right? Same training. And they responded so quick, four of them all working together, get out there, no big deal. It wasn't that the water was really deep, but you could tell that she was struggling to get in.

Jennifer Iwlson 2:22

Yeah, she was in a rip.

Andrew Doud 2:23

And and within, you know, a couple seconds, they're out to her, they pull her back in, they just kind of chat with her, walk her through it, everything. But it was really cool to watch them do their job and do it so well. So you know how important that training is because in an instant it can go sideways.

Jennifer Iwlson 2:37

Well, and also um for me, this is really important because my father in this 60s, he was an ocean lifeguard for East Hampton Village, and then my two brothers were and my two daughters. Yeah.

Andrew Doud 2:50

So it's like near and dear to your heart.

Jennifer Iwlson 2:52

Yeah.

Dave Rattiner 2:52

That's very cool. Um Are you gonna be performing at this thing? Or do you because I know you sing.

Josh Brussel 2:57

You you're so I have I have a couple things I'll be doing. So uh Tuesday with the clinics. Um, that evening I'll actually be at the talkhouse with my sublime tribute band Ludog, which I'm gonna invite all the pros to go to. I think I'm gonna I want to show him Khalil Hamptons, the one that we all know.

Dave Rattiner 3:11

Yeah, he's really good. He's really good.

Josh Brussel 3:13

And then uh Wednesday at the Montaukit, I'm gonna have like an acoustic, chill kind of West Coast surf vibe band. We're gonna be playing at the Montauk from six to nine for a welcome party where all our pros will be there and we're inviting all our players. That's open to the public as well.

Dave Rattiner 3:27

Um so when you say open, like you mean free, right?

Josh Brussel 3:30

Yep, everything that we are doing is free for the public except for the clinics. Except for the clinics, okay. The clinics, yeah, you can sign up at www.herovalley.com. Um, but we actually have I got them to reduce the price wave from last year because this is our second year. I'm trying to make it affordable. We really want to just bring volleyball to everybody and show them how amazing the sport is. Very cool. You're like a renaissance man.

Andrew Doud 3:51

You're like you're so you're a teacher, you're you have a sublime tribute and cover band, you're a surfer, you're a volleyball guy. I mean, you're like doing and a musician. This is crazy.

Josh Brussel 4:00

Well, I don't surf, but yeah, I have other bands. Like I have Blate Night at the Talkhouse this Friday, which is insane. So I just do a little bit of everything.

Jennifer Iwlson 4:07

Man, and he definitely sees my daughter Lucy there.

Josh Brussel 4:10

Oh, absolutely.

Andrew Doud 4:12

I try to give her a rides home, I try to do the right thing. Good to have somebody keeping an eye on things. That's all right.

Jennifer Iwlson 4:17

Um it takes a village.

Andrew Doud 4:19

Yeah, very cool.

Montauk Listing Near The Golf Course

Andrew Doud 4:20

Um, listen, let's talk a little bit of real estate. Obviously, it's a real estate podcast. Jen, your team, you guys are busy. Um, you full house here with everybody in. So, what do you guys got going on?

Jennifer Iwlson 4:29

So, I'm gonna let Yasenia speak about this. We have a great listing in Montauk, actually, so it ties right into this, and we'll probably have an open house uh during the those days at this listing at 64 Fairview, and I'll let Yacenia speak about that.

Yesenia Quichimbo 4:47

64 Fairview, um, it's a great property. It's a bit we we've had it on for a couple uh for some time. We just reduced the price to 1495, so it's actually price and ready to go. The median um home in Montaught is about two million, so we're well below that. Um so you can come in, you know, create your own vision and make this the perfect home in Montaught. Um 0.6 acres, 2600 square feet, and three levels, it's really this is the one that backs up the Montauk Down here.

Jennifer Iwlson 5:17

The golf course.

Yesenia Quichimbo 5:18

Yeah, so there's like a rate that leads right into it. It's it's really phenomenal. It's a phenomenal property. It's within five minutes to the village, to the beach, to really anywhere. Yeah. Location-wise, you couldn't get anywhere any better. And uh there's a whipping willow in the back garden, which is really, really sweet.

Andrew Doud 5:34

I love Montauk.

Dave Rattiner 5:35

Montauk is such a special place. I mean, it's just like uh we were there for at Soleil East uh for dinner just two days ago, and we walked around the village, and it is it's you just really feel like you're on vacation. You are on vacation.

Yesenia Quichimbo 5:48

You are there's a lot of people. It's just a totally different world, yeah.

Dave Rattiner 5:51

It's just really relaxed.

Yesenia Quichimbo 5:53

I mean, Montauk is just different. And I think when you first drive into Montauk, that first peak of the ocean is your unplugging.

Dave Rattiner 6:00

You feel you feel a relief. Yeah, something something happens for sure.

Yesenia Quichimbo 6:03

There's definitely something special about driving into Montauk and seeing that.

Andrew Doud 6:06

Everybody knows that spot.

Dave Rattiner 6:07

Yeah, like you're coming over the highway, it's like right there. Yeah, it's interesting.

Andrew Doud 6:12

Um, all right, I'm gonna pass the mic over to Steve. Let's get a big picture rundown of what's going on in the market.

Hamptons Market Stats And Momentum

Steve Glick 6:19

All right, so uh past week 21 listings went into contract from West Hampton to Montauk. Last year there were 20 listings, so that's an increase of 5%. Two years ago there were 28 listings that went into contract, so a decrease there of 25%. But the breakdown of the 21 transactions, there was one over 20 million, one between 15 and 20 million, four between three and five, five between two and three, eight between one and two and two under a million. Dollar volume was eighty-seven million. Last year it was fifty-eight million in one week, so it's an increase of fifty percent. And two years ago, the dollar volume was eighty-two million, so just a small increase of six percent. But there were thirty-one new listings that came onto the market. So that increases inventory by ten listings, and the breakdown of those thirty-one new listings, one over twenty million, one between ten and fifteen million, five between five and ten, three between three and five, seven between two and three, ten between one and two. So a lot in that one and two million dollar category, and four under a million. Inventory is at seventeen hundred and sixty-four total listings, thirteen hundred and ninety-six active, and three sixty-eight in contract. So the same story every week is about um twenty to thirty listings going into contract and about twenty to thirty listings coming out of the market. So it pretty much flat, but a good week in Hampton.

Dave Rattiner 7:34

So it feels even every week, Chen. What what do you what do you make of the market right now?

Jennifer Iwlson 7:38

We're busy. We have a lot of listings. We're busy. We have a deal um on a couple of our listings that just happened. So yeah, I think that it's um first of all, the rental market is really strong this year. Still, it's still going. Yep.

Steve Glick 7:55

Wow.

Jennifer Iwlson 7:55

Um, and then I think a lot of these people who are out here are looking at houses to buy, and that price point, what you just said, Steve, between one and two. Yeah, that's like you know, sort of entry level. That's gold right there. Yeah, it's good to see those listings coming on. So we have a few listings in that category, and especially this one in Montauk. It's it's a great listing, it just needs to be redone inside, and and you'll you'll be sitting pretty with a property definitely over two.

Steve Glick 8:23

Yeah, we've been seeing like this second wave coming in. Um, we talked about it last week where the way the first wave of uh buyers came in right before Memorial Day. Now we're seeing the second wave of people listing their home and and transacting as we round out, you know, coming into August. So we're we're starting to feel it, see it, and it's like picking up over the past two weeks. It's been very active. Um, and that is what we're predicting, and uh that's gonna continue, I think, all the way through you know, September, October.

Jennifer Iwlson 8:50

Yep, I think that's the plan.

Andrew Doud 8:55

David. Yeah, what's happening?

Talkhouse Bands And Local Nightlife

Dave Rattiner 8:57

Spell this weekend. Well, so a reminder, it's called Ludog.

Josh Brussel 9:01

Yep, Ludog.

Dave Rattiner 9:02

Ludog. What is that? What is that? What is that? So Ludog of Ludog.

Josh Brussel 9:06

So Ludog is Bradley Noel, who's the original singer. Now they have his son, Jacob Knowles, the lead singer Sublime, which is absolutely incredible. They're actually playing in bass shore, I think, tonight or tomorrow or something, which is insane. But um, Ludog was Brad Knoll's dog. And if you listen to a lot of lyrics, you'll hear Ludog in lyrics, and it was this Dalmatian that just followed him everywhere, would be on stage. It was absolutely insane. But I also have Littlehead Thinks, which is at the Talk House on Friday.

Dave Rattiner 9:29

That's what I knew. Littlehead thinks. I was like, I never had a Ludog. Littlehead Thinks, talk about what's Littlehead Thinks.

Josh Brussel 9:34

So that's my band I've been in for about 20 years. I got into that band because over 20 years ago, the Talk House had like a Talk House Idol contest, which I won, and they're like, yo, be a part of our band. Um and but it's been that way for 20 years now. We've had the same guys, we've only changed drummers. But uh yeah, we've been playing the talkhouse parties all over the Hamptons weddings for 20 plus, and it's it really is the heart of Abiganza in terms of nightlife.

Dave Rattiner 10:00

I mean, you can't even make it, you can't even argue that. It's just it's just a great local spot. It it really it fits in with the locals really well, but then like people from the city, they love it too. And it's like a central point for for it for the whole Hampton.

Josh Brussel 10:15

Yeah, the musicians love to play there. The amount of the people I've met through the talkhouse is absolutely insane. Got to play with like people I'd never thought I'd even meet.

Dave Rattiner 10:24

I haven't been there all summer. I got I gotta get over there, yeah. See, I haven't been there all summer. It's wild, but it's worth it. You get in, you know, it's it's fine. Yeah.

Jennifer Iwlson 10:38

Hey Dave, can we have Josh talk about this event and how it works with the um with the people who are going to be playing volleyball and who participates and how it what it looks like.

Clinics, Olympians, And Tournament Format

Dave Rattiner 10:51

Yeah, of course.

Josh Brussel 10:52

Yeah, so real quick, that we have those clinics on Tuesday. So I do this all with Carrie Walsh. So we're gonna have Carrie Walsh Jennings, three times gold medalist and a one-time bronze medalist, which she's very, very emphatic about. Don't forget about the bronze. Yes. Um, but her husband's coming out, she's actually bringing out her whole family this year. Um, and we think a couple of the pros will be at these clinics, and we still have spots open. And basically, what we teach there is first and foremost, volleyball is we're trying to grow that sport. But the second thing is Carrie and I all of us are all about being multi-sport athletes and how important it is to do not just concentrate on one thing. And we're firm believers in that what you learn in sports, what you learn in school, what you learn in anything, you can apply to everything. So we're all about wellness, about doing your body well, doing your mind well, and how it can it relates to everything you do. So there's that underlying theme in these clinics, which I think anybody, if even if you don't play volleyball, it's definitely worth going. And like I said, we have kids, uh youth clinics from nine to twelve, and then we have adult clinics from one to three. So that's open to anybody.

Andrew Doud 11:51

Nice.

Josh Brussel 11:52

Um, and then we'll have a uh after we're gonna do like a happy art montauk brew, who's been such a great sponsor and supporter of everything we've been doing. Um Wednesday, we're we're kind of showing the pros Montauk, we're showing everybody. We've got uh this their top women's team in the world, TKN, is coming out. Um, they're probably gonna represent us in Olymp in uh the Olympics in 2028. We've got Phil Dahlhauser who was the Beijing beast, he won gold in Beijing. Um a cool name.

Andrew Doud 12:21

Imagine doing something so cool that you can walk around calling yourself that's he's the Beijing. Yeah, like nuts.

Josh Brussel 12:26

Yeah, he's uh he's and he's he's such a cool dude. Um that's one of my favorite parts about this is meeting new people, and all these volleyball players are so amazing. And for anybody who comes to the event, you literally just walk right up to them and you can like talk to these Olympians who represent the USA. It's absolutely amazing to do that. For Wednesday, so we'll show them all the stuff. Thursday, the main event. Um, we have two tournaments going on side by side. So, what we did is we have one or two pros on a team. We have five teams, we call that our Pro Am. I've got a lifeguard on each of those pro am teams to represent HLA and all that stuff in this tournament. Um, and I've acquired and amassed locals who um we just want that to represent the community. I have one of my friends is a FDNY guy, he's gonna be playing. So we try to bring everything and create this great community of people together. Um, and they'll they'll play. On the side, we have amateur teams, and which you guys are sponsoring. Thank you so much so much. Yeah, sponsoring lifeguard teams. So we have one team of just lifeguards, two of the teams are high school kids from East Hampton High School. Um, we have SAG Main representing their players. Um, and Montequila has sponsored a team. So we have we have all these different teams going on, and they have their own tournament because some people they're like, it's fun playing with pros, but I just want to play. And I'm like, all right, man, here you go. Um, we two girls are on the court at all times on both sides, and uh, so they're gonna compete. The winner, the amateur, goes into the playoffs of the pros. And here's the best part about it is in the playoffs for the pro-am, when you beat a team, they're out of the tournament, but you pick up those pros. So what's gonna happen at about five o'clock at the end of the day, that finals for that pro-am is basically you getting an exhibition, sixes tournament, of the best beach volleyball players in the world. Wow. So you get to see them, and some amateurs will be in there, and that's where it culminates. And again, totally free. We want to invite everybody. We have food, we have sponsors, we have giveaways. I'm gonna have games in between that people can participate in, even if they're not volleyball players. Um, we're just trying to build that fun. It's this this is just about bringing everybody together, enjoying volleyball, more importantly, just enjoying the day.

Dave Rattiner 14:41

Yeah, I want to play volleyball now. Yeah, right. That's cool.

Andrew Doud 14:46

Good sales

Junior Lifeguards And Adult Ocean Skills

Andrew Doud 14:47

pitch.

Lee Mohlere 14:47

I just want to touch on because I got to know Josh. Obviously, we both teach in East Hampton, but also through Jen Braybant, who helps Josh put this on. And Jen and I's daughters are in the Nipper Guard program, and it's my daughter's first year, and she absolutely loves it. And what she's picking up as far as like water and beach safety through Hampton Lifeguard Association is pretty cool to see. Um, just the skills and the confidence of being around water, and then they move them from the bay when they're younger up to the ocean beaches at at the age of nine. And so that's such an important thing to be, you know, a good strong ocean swimmer when you live by the as close to the beaches we all saw.

Josh Brussel 15:21

Yeah, and they have the Nipper tournament Monday and Tuesday next week. And then right after our event, they have the junior lifeguard tournament at Atlantic on Saturday and Sunday, which is huge. And then those players, those they'll they go on to a national tournament if they qualify. Yeah. Um, and we actually have lifeguards, Daisy Pitches and Liam Knight, who represent the United States. They went to New Zealand, they went to Australia for an international lifeguard tournament.

Lee Mohlere 15:46

Wow. Yeah, it's a lot of people. So that's how big it gets. Yeah, it's totally awesome. It's such a great program.

Josh Brussel 15:50

Yeah, they're they want to waterproof America. They're waterproofing East Hampton, so everybody can do it, but they want a waterproof America. And they actually have an adult guarding program. So that's not just junior lifeguards anymore. They added it this year. So any adults who kind of want to learn about these riptides and all the stuff you're talking about, now there's an adult program, which is absolutely insane.

Lee Mohlere 16:08

Connie Ryan's been recruiting me for that.

Josh Brussel 16:10

Me too, but I don't go. I get the text messages.

Andrew Doud 16:12

I just ignore cool. All right, that's good stuff. Um, is there anything else before we let you guys go?

Jennifer Iwlson 16:18

I think that's good. Thank you for having us. Yeah, thanks for coming in.

Andrew Doud 16:22

That's great. Um, I guess we'll call that a podcast. Everybody, have a great day and have a great weekend. I'm Andrew Dow. That's what's happening in the Hamptons.