Long Island home closing prices dip 2% in September

Home closing prices on Long Island dipped 2 percent last month from a year ago, the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island reported.

The median closing price was $362,500, down from $370,000 a year earlier and from $364,500 the preceding month, said the report, which also covers Queens.

September's 2,193 closings reflected a drop in volume of 3 percent from a year earlier and 11.6 percent from August.

The year-ago and month-to-month declines provided more proof of a long road to a real estate recovery, especially with the jobs market stalled and foreclosure rates high.

Real estate broker Ben Oliva blamed declines on the partisanship in the nation's capital.

"Until the folks in Washington try to work together, the economy isn't going to rebound," said the owner of Mineola-based Family Tree Realty.

Like others in the business, Oliva found political and economic uncertainty has taken a toll on home ownership but has had the opposite effect on rentals. Most of the calls he gets, he said, "are primarily related to rentals. The people looking to buy . . . are looking to reduce prices further."

Last month's sales picture was pulled down by Suffolk and Queens because data show closings in Nassau, which benefits from its shorter commuting distance to New York City, grew 6.2 percent from a year earlier. Nassau's median closing price of $410,000 was unchanged from September 2010 but was down from the preceding month's $418,000, the report said.

Suffolk's 787 closings were down 4.8 percent from the 827 a year earlier, the trade group said. Its $318,000 median closing price fell 4 percent from a year earlier and from $320,000 in August, data show.