LI sees drop in number of home deals
There were 1,530 closings in Nassau and Suffolk in September 2010, compared to 1,836 in September 2009. (March 11, 2010) Credit: AP
The number of home deals that closed on Long Island in September fell 17 percent from a year ago, but housing prices held steady in Suffolk and climbed slightly in Nassau, according to the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island.
Last month there were 1,530 closings in Nassau and Suffolk, compared to 1,836 in September 2009, when buyers were motivated to meet a November deadline for a federal tax credit, the trade group said.
The median home price in Nassau for September rose 2.5 percent from a year ago to $410,000. Suffolk's median price remained $335,000.
Joseph Mottola, chief executive of MLSLI, said the prices reflected the "durability" of the local real estate market - a confirmed buyer's market. "Low interest rates and plenty of homes to choose from create an even more favorable buying environment," he said in a statement.
The group said the tax credit deadline resulted in unusually high figures for September 2009 and helped accelerate activity in the first half of 2010.
Andy Yakubovsky, a broker-manager at Century 21 Prevete in Wantagh, said the tax credit "just moved the pool of buyers" earlier in the year. "Everybody bought at the same time." Year-to-date figures in Nassau spiked in June but have dropped each month since, he said. "What's probably going to happen is at the end of the year, you're going to end up with the same amount of transactions or possibly even less," he said.
Despite good deals to be had, he said, inventory is piling up and some buyers "are taking a wait-and-see attitude." The controversy over reported irregularities in foreclosure documentation hasn't helped - "it knocked everybody for a loop."
Inventory for Long Island and Queens was up 2.4 percent over a year ago, at 34,348, in September.
Michael Azzato, a broker-associate with Century 21 Northern Shores in Northport, said, "There's so much inventory out there the buyers are taking their time evaluating."
In Queens there were 591 September closings, a 17.2 percent drop from a year ago. The median price was $354,145, an increase of 4.8 percent from a year ago.
