Median sale price for homes in Suffolk hits record high as would-be Long Island homebuyers see stiff competition, low inventory

The median sale price for a single-family home in Suffolk County hit a new record high in November, as Long Island’s would-be homebuyers continued to fight for a limited number of available homes this winter, according to new data released Tuesday.

In Suffolk County, the median home sale price reached $725,000, the highest price on record, and 11.1% higher than the median home sale price recorded in November 2024, according to data from OneKey MLS, the multiple listing service covering Long Island. That price tag surpassed the county’s previous peak of $720,000 in September of this year, Newsday reported.

Meanwhile, the median sale price for a single-family house in Nassau County rose to $840,000 in November, increasing by 8.4% from the same month last year, according to OneKey MLS data. That mark remained below a record high of $875,000 in August of this year, Newsday reported.

Those higher prices reflect strong demand among buyers for the few new and old homes available for sale.

"There are three things that continue to dominate the market: strong buyer demand, an increase in prices, and still no change in the low inventory conditions that we’ve had for a prolonged period of time," said Richard Haggerty, the CEO of OneKey MLS.

While inventory has risen nationally, the available homes for sale in the New York region have remained comparatively low, said Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist with Zillow. On Long Island, that lack of inventory is largely due to the very limited amount of new home construction, Divounguy said.

"The market remains somewhat of a seller's market across the metro, and that’s especially true in Nassau County and Suffolk County," Divounguy said. "The metropolitan area, and especially Long Island, just doesn’t build a lot of housing."

The lack of inventory also resulted in fewer deals. The number of closings fell in both counties: by 17.2% in Suffolk and 5.6% in Nassau in November, compared with a year ago, according to OneKey MLS data.

Low inventory means sellers can command higher prices — and secure a sales price close to what they list their home for. In Suffolk on average, buyers paid 99.2% of what sellers asked for in November, and in Nassau on average, buyers ponied up 98.2% of the listing price.

Buyers willing to pay close to asking prices also indicates that they are still facing bidding wars for more affordably priced homes, Haggerty said.

Grace Desiderio, an associate broker with ERA Caputo Realty, has seen the demand first hand — even with more expensive properties. She said she received around a dozen offers on a New Hyde Park home listed at $1.375 million, which just went into contract.

"There’s still bidding wars, as long as it’s priced accurately," Desiderio said. "I think I’m getting something soon — maybe in the $700,000 range — and something like that is going to fly off the shelves because there’s hardly anything in that range."

The high demand has also led some sellers to list their homes at higher prices, which usually results in the property taking more time to sell, said Amy Girimonti, a real estate broker and owner of Prime Properties Long Island in Huntington. In Suffolk , the average days on market increased to 54 days last month, from 50 days in November 2024.

"Some sellers are testing the market with some higher values to see if they can get them," Girimonti said. "We are seeing longer days on the market with listings priced above market value at this point."

Buyers looking to land a home next year could have more luck if mortgage rates continue to decline, Haggerty said. Mortgage rates peaked after the pandemic, reaching nearly 8% at the end of 2023, and have since moderated to an average of 6.22% for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage as of Dec. 11, according to data from Freddie Mac.

Lower rates could entice sellers, sitting on homes with mortgage rates of between 3 and 4%, to list their homes and downsize or expand, Haggerty said. But ultimately, lower rates won’t solve Long Island’s underlying problem: a lack of enough housing supply, Haggerty added.

"Until we have more inventory, we're not going to solve the affordability problem, and that's a really gnarly problem to tackle," Haggerty said.