McMansion for Rent: Sign of the Times

BRIDGEHAMPTON, N.Y. (TheStreet) -- Joe Farrell built himself a $59.5 million Sandcastle in the Hamptons, but nobody wanted to play in it.

In one of the best Hamptons stories of the summer not to stem from a P. Diddy party, the Bridgehampton, N.Y.-based builder and the Corcoran Group real estate firm put his 31,000-square-foot, 11-acre Sandcastle estate -- with bowling alley, squash court, rock wall, skateboard half pipe and children's play room with DJ booth and karaoke equipment -- on the market to deafening silence.

Undaunted, Farrell initially balked at offering up the home for the summer -- reportedly to the Jonas brothers -- before agreeing with an Eastern European businessman to a two-week, $425,000 rental. By comparison, the five-bedroom oceanfront mansion in nearby Wainscott that once hosted Lindsay Lohan's family fetches $350,000 for the entire summer.

"With that kind of money for two-weeks' rental, I'd rent it every year -- booms or busts," Farrell says. "I don't care how much money you have, that's a lot of money and it pays all my bills for the year."

Farrell's approach is gaining popularity, as luxury homeowners across the U.S. are renting their vacation homes and, in some cases, their primary residences, just to make ends meet. According to vacation rental company HomeAway, 54% of property owners who use the site say they need to rent out their properties more than they had in the past to cover costs. HomeAway also found that 8% of the 6 million to 7 million existing vacation homeowners in the U.S., or roughly 500,000 owners, plan to start renting within the next year. Of that 500,000, 19% said the economic downturn had forced their decision.