Nassau home prices up 5.2%; Suffolk up 8.2%, report shows

Home prices on Long Island continue to climb amid tight inventory, according to statistics released Thursday by the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island.

In Nassau County, homes sold for a median price of $525,000 in October, a 5.2 percent increase from a year earlier. Suffolk County homes traded for a median price of $389,360 last month, up 8.2 percent compared with October 2017.

But home prices have receded slightly in the past few months, following a seasonal pattern. The Nassau median price peaked at $549,950 in August, before slipping to $525,000 in September — where it remained last month. 

Suffolk's median price hit $400,000 in August, before dropping back to $380,000 in September.

Sales activity slowed slightly in Nassau County in October compared with last year, with the 1,155 closed sales representing a 2.6 percent decline from October 2017.  

In Suffolk, sales increased 6.7 percent in October compared with last year, to 1,595. 

While the inventory of homes for sale remains historically low, the number of listings across the Island —12,161 — ticked up 6.7 percent from a year earlier.

Jerry O'Neill, broker and owner of Coldwell Banker Harbor Light in Amity Harbor, said while that low inventory has continued to drive prices in Suffolk upward, it appears the market is heading toward a plateau.

"We’re at a point where we may not see the same pace of increases,” O'Neill said. "But the spring market will tell us.” 

While home buyers have been talking about increased interest rates, O'Neill said he doesn't think that’s "the reason why things have leveled off" in terms of overall activity.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 4.94 percent, the highest level since February 2011. A year ago the rate stood at 3.95 percent.

Andy Yakubovsky, associate broker and branch manager of Signature Premiere Properties' office in Massapequa Park, said that while increased interest rates may have an impact, “I don’t think the interest rate is going to have an effect on prices. Not yet.”

Yakubovsky said the slide in sales activity in Nassau was due to declines in inventory. 

“When you have less stuff to sell and nobody has anywhere else to go it makes things tough,” he said. “I’m hoping for more in the springtime, but I don’t see a big jump from the year before.”