THIS spring in the Hamptons, everyone's tossing around the "R" word.That's rental - not recession - and it's been an incredibly busy year, brokers say. Many would-be Hamptonites, uncertain about the real-estate market, are renting instead of buying. Even at jaw-dropping prices ($1 million in Sagaponack!), "it's still much cheaper than going to Europe," notes Gary DePersia, a senior vice president at The Corcoran Group.Much of the top rental inventory has been snatched up. (That's in no small part due to an increase in European vacationers, who now see the Hamptons as a budget destination, thanks to the weak dollar.) As a result, prices remain high and bidding wars are not uncommon.Then again, with Memorial Day fast approaching, now may be the time to find a deal. All those spec houses that haven't sold yet? You may find some negotiating room for rentals, according to Susan Breitenbach, senior vice president at The Corcoran Group.The buyers are out there, too, adds Breitenbach. "Not everyone on Wall Street is destitute," she quips. "There will be nobody with tin cups on the corner. The traffic will be the same, there will be people all over, the restaurants will be crowded."Here are 10 of the most fabulous houses out there this summer. If you can't afford to rent or buy one, at least try to get an invitation.AMAGANSETTI vant to be aloneRent: $395,000 for seasonBuy: $17.995MSome houses are notable for who their neighbors are - this one's notable for who its neighbors aren't. Built adjacent to a 500-acre preserve, this waterfront house overlooks dunes, the ocean and nothing else. This six-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bath home is already taken for the summer - by tenants who requested the ground-floor yoga room be converted into a second living room - but this Zen palace, made with hand-hewn beams and reclaimed wood, is perfect for hippies with a sizable chunk of change.Estate on the greenRent: $400,000 for seasonBuy: Price upon requestDeceased Tavern on the Green founder Warner LeRoy's (inset) former home is a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired, 10,000-square-foot house that overlooks a koi-filled pond. The house - made of stone and cedar and boasting floor-to-ceiling windows - has 11 bedrooms, 10 baths, an artist's studio and great bay views. Also on the 14-acre compound are a Har-Tru clay tennis court, a pool and a pool house.AMAGANSETTTennis, anyone?Rent: $340,000 for seasonBuy: $13.95MA Hamptons home for someone who has everything - except, perhaps, a car. This home, where Further Lane meets Indian Highway, is just steps from the beach and is walking distance to town and neighbors like Jerry Seinfeld. The former site of the grass-tennis-court Namagansett Club, this three-lot home - with a six-bedroom main house that was renovated in 2000 - was bought by Edgar Bronfman Jr. (inset) for $12.5 million in early 2005. By the end of the year, he had it on the market for $15.75 million. It's now back on the market, and here's your chance to nab a bargain: The 3.5-acre estate is available for purchase for a relatively modest $13.95 million. Or you can test drive it, so to speak, by renting it this summer.EAST HAMPTONGhost storiesRent: $495,000 for seasonBuy: $14.995MLocated in East Hampton's tony Maidstone area, this Arts and Crafts-inspired home, built in 2007, offers a little bit of England less than a mile from the ocean. (It's also around the corner from Rene Zellweger's and Gwyneth Paltrow's pads - and down the street from the allegedly haunted house where antiques dealer Barton Kaplan was found dead in his pool.) This summer's renters will enjoy the property's pool, sunken garden and an English herb garden. The 10,000-plus-square-foot house boasts a Viking kitchen, seven fireplaces, a wine cellar, a massive his-and-hers shower in the master suite, and great details, too, like the same bathroom fixtures found in Windsor Castle.Full courtRent: N/ABuy: $24.5MThe former home of lobbyist Liz Robbins - who sold it to Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander for $15.45 million last year - is back on the market. (The beefed-up price may be thanks, in part, to its location, next door to Tommy Hilfiger's house, which just sold for $26.5 million.) This Further Lane home features nearly three acres of oceanfront property, which, in addition to a shingle-style main house, has a Har-Tru tennis court, a beachside cabana, a pool and pool house, as well as a spacious "party house."EAST HAMPTONGreen acres is the place . . .Rent: $350,000 for AugustBuy: $19.995MThis sprawling, nearly completed estate, known as Stone Meadow Farm, features three houses - plus a barn - on its eight acres. The main house, which has 18,000 square feet of living space, has cypress floors throughout, an elevator, a screening room and a spa with a steam room, sauna and indoor Gunite plunge pool. Also on the property: a pool, an all-weather tennis court and plenty of space for staff or guests.MONTAUKONTAUKPretty as a pictureRent: N/ABuy: $35MAntique fra-mer to the stars Eli Wilner is selling this 35-acre waterfront estate, located amid fields and with 400 feet of private beach. The 7,000-square-foot contemporary house has five bedrooms and marble throughout, plus 3,500 square feet of mahogany decking. If you're more an indoors type, you'll enjoy amazing views from the glass walls that surround the 16-foot-high living and dining rooms. Next door is the home of J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler - who bought the former Warhol estate last year-and down the block is Paul Simon's pad.SAGAPONACKGAPONACKMillion dollar babyRent: $1M for seasonBuy: $19.9MThanks to its staggering price tag - and ho-hum (read: non-waterfront) location - this may be the most talked-about rental of the season. Though one area real-estate agent dubbed the place a "McMansion," the more than 12,000-square-foot house (on more than four acres) has eight bedrooms, nine full and two half-baths and a chef's kitchen, as well as a 1,700-square-foot pool house and "gaming pavilion." (And, oh yeah, Billy Joel has a home nearby.) Think $1 million is too dear a price for temporary digs? Consider buying it.SOUTHAMPTONGo Westerly, young manRent: N/ABuy: $59MKnown as the Westerly Estate, this former home of Howard Gittis - billionaire Ron Perelman's chummiest adviser - has 25 rooms in its 15,000-square-foot house on 15.4 acres. The property also boasts a Har-Tru tennis court, a Gunite pool and a three-bedroom carriage house on 1.8 acres. Designed in 1929, the former Wanamaker estate hosted countless parties; more recently it hosted Sen. John McCain. One of the last true estates in the area, the property can be divided.WATER MILLSolitary refinementRent: $450,000 for seasonBuy: $18.95MThis home, on Middle Line Highway, offers sweeping bay views from its 6,335-square-foot main house, which also has two master suites, a movie theater, mahogany decks and stone patios. Also on the 5-acre property is a separate three-bedroom guest house, a sheltered tennis court and a pool with pool house. If all this privacy makes you lonely, you can always pop over to the eccentric Wilzig Castle, home of legendary parties.Sag HarborSAG HARBORInvitation of the season . . .Eat, drink, man, modelRent: $350,000 There's no better place to nosh this summer in the Hamptons than at the "212 House" in Sag Harbor - a 3/4-acre, five-bedroom, four-bath spread. It's rented for the season by Scott Feldman, the founder of Two-Twelve Management, who reps every Food Network star and celebrity chef you know. Expect BBQs with Mario Batali and Bobby Flay at the grill, while Giada De Laurentiis serves up antipasta and Padma Lakshmi entertains. Perhaps an impromptu "Top Chef" competition will break out.

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