The coronavirus pandemic has driven thousands of New Yorkers out of the city and straight to the Hamptons, where their panic-buying of property has driven up real-estate prices to record highs, the New York Post reports. The median sales price for the posh area on Long Island jumped 27.1 percent to $1.08 million in the second quarter of 2020, just as the pandemic hit its apex in New York City. The median price for the same spec house in the same quarter a year ago was $850,000. The average sales price, which is often higher than the median price due to fluctuations in boom times, has risen by 21.1 percent over 2019 to $2.09 million. Rental properties have also been scooped up thanks to people working and studying remotely and no longer needing to live next to offices and schools.