LI home sales, median prices up, data show
In this July 26, 2011 photo, a sale pending sign is set outside a house. Credit: AP
The median prices of homes sold on Long Island were up last month, and more homes were sold compared with the same month last year, according to numbers released by the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island.
The median closing price in both Nassau and Suffolk saw a month-over-month increase, with Nassau's rising to $415,000 from $406,750 in June and Suffolk's growing to $315,000 from $310,000. The new price in each county was down compared with July 2010 -- in Nassau down 3.7 percent from $431,000 and in Suffolk down 7.4 percent from $340,000 in July 2010.
There were 1,606 home sales finalized in Nassau and Suffolk counties last month, up 15.2 percent from 1,394 in July 2010. The increase comes after June sales figures saw a 44 percent year-over-year decrease because June 2010 figures were inflated by buyers rushing to qualify for a federal home buyer's tax credit, which originally required customers to close housing contracts by that month.
July home sales are up comparatively because sales were "artificially low" last year following a period of "artificially high" demand created by the tax credit's incentives, said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers.
"In 2011, we're not subject to the impact of the tax credit," he said. "We're comparing against an artificial high a year ago."
The demand created by the tax credit also pushed home prices up last year, Miller said, which helps explain the year-over-year price drop in the newest report. Brokers say there is still room for growth in the housing market, although sales numbers this year are stabilizing and showing regular seasonal variations. But the effects of recent volatile economic events -- such as the debt ceiling crisis and Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. credit -- have yet to be seen, they added.
"In May through November, you expect the [sales] numbers to be high," said Jim McIntosh, broker-owner of Complete Home Realty in Holbrook. "It should be higher, but there's no incentives out there."
The question of whether the unstable economy will have an effect on the housing market will be answered in sales figures for September, Miller said. Home sales typically enter a lull in August, but should jump again after Labor Day.
Consumers will "take longer to make a decision until they sort of process all this chaos and get comfortable with it," Miller said. "The trick is how long this volatility lasts, and therefore how long is sales activity going to be impacted by that."
Events in Washington might cause further consequences on the housing market -- home mortgage interest deductions could be altered by the bipartisan supercommittee created to address the nation's debt, McIntosh said.
If the interest deductions are reduced or altered, "that's going to drastically affect people's decision to buy a house. You're taking away every incentive," McIntosh said.
