Suffolk County home prices drop from previous year for first time since 2017
This three-bedroom split-level in Copiague went into contract in March after just a few weeks on the market. It was last listed for $649,000. Credit: Tim Hill Photo
Long Island home prices are falling for the first time in years but a recent uptick in purchases, paired with a further decline in the number of available homes, is keeping the odds stacked against homebuyers this spring.
The median price among homes sold in Suffolk County last month fell to $515,000, or 2.6% compared with the same month in the previous year, according to new data released Thursday by OneKey MLS. It was the first time Suffolk has experienced a year-over-year drop in the median home price since May 2017. The median fell from $532,000 in February.
The median in Nassau was $645,000, which was 0.8% lower than in March 2022. That mark rose from February, when Nassau experienced its first year-over-year drop since 2015 and the median stood at $640,000.
“Prices have softened but I wouldn’t say this is any significant correction at all,” said Richard Haggerty, CEO of OneKey MLS. “From a seller’s perspective, prices are pretty darn stable.
Median prices for pending sales suggest closing prices could move higher in the next few months. The median pending price in Suffolk was $560,000, which was 1.2% higher than a year ago. In Nassau, the median pending price was $679,000, or 2.9% lower than in March 2022.
The dip in prices follows a year in which mortgage rates rose steeply, adding hundreds of dollars to homebuyers’ monthly mortgage payments. As rates rise, fewer potential homebuyers can qualify for a mortgage, while others postpone a purchase. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.27% for the week ending Thursday, according to Freddie Mac. A year, ago the average was 5%.
Local real estate agents described a climate that still favors sellers because buyers have so few options to choose from.
“Typically when you have low inventory and high demand, you would imagine home prices are going to increase, and the market is going to heat up,” said Jared Garcia, a real estate agent at Weichert Realtors in Farmingdale. “I think part of the reason we’ve seen a leveling off is the rates did pop up. It definitely paralyzed a lot of buyers."
Garcia said that he has had multiple offers on recent listings but he’s seeing fewer extreme offers well above a home’s asking price, with most offers clustered around the same level.
“They’re making more sensible offers,” he said. “They’re not just sticking their neck out to get the house."
The higher mortgage rate environment and economic uncertainty about the potential for a recession has resulted in a slowdown in transactions. There were 1,640 closed sales across Long Island last month, which was nearly 33% fewer than in March 2022.
But Haggerty, of OneKey MLS, saw a silver lining in last month’s pending sales data, which covers deals that have gone into contract but not yet closed. There were 2,444 pending sales in March, which, while still lagging 2022 levels, represented a 30.8% increase from February.
Still, Long Island has half as many homes available for sale as it did in March 2020 before the pandemic fueled a surge in homebuying on Long Island. There were 4,710 homes for sale across the Island at the end of March, which was 4.5% fewer than a year ago.
Vanessa Gonzalez, an agent at Realty Connect USA in Hauppauge, who frequently markets properties in Suffolk County, said she has had seven listings sell in the past few weeks with multiple offers above asking price. The tight market has given buyers limited room to negotiate over terms.
“It’s not a buyer’s market where they can say, ‘Here’s my rider. I need all these repairs if you want me to buy your house.’ Absolutely not. But you do have a little more room if you pay a good price,” she said. "Right now what is killing us is we have no inventory. When we have no inventory, there is no way it will be a buyer’s market.”
Long Island home prices are falling for the first time in years but a recent uptick in purchases, paired with a further decline in the number of available homes, is keeping the odds stacked against homebuyers this spring.
The median price among homes sold in Suffolk County last month fell to $515,000, or 2.6% compared with the same month in the previous year, according to new data released Thursday by OneKey MLS. It was the first time Suffolk has experienced a year-over-year drop in the median home price since May 2017. The median fell from $532,000 in February.
The median in Nassau was $645,000, which was 0.8% lower than in March 2022. That mark rose from February, when Nassau experienced its first year-over-year drop since 2015 and the median stood at $640,000.
“Prices have softened but I wouldn’t say this is any significant correction at all,” said Richard Haggerty, CEO of OneKey MLS. “From a seller’s perspective, prices are pretty darn stable.
What to know
- The median price among homes sold in Suffolk County last month fell 2.6% to $515,000 compared with March 2022. It was the first year-over-year drop in price in Suffolk since May 2017.
- The Nassau median sales price fell 0.8% to $645,000.
- Local real estate agents said that the shortage of homes for sale has kept the market tilted in favor of sellers.
Median prices for pending sales suggest closing prices could move higher in the next few months. The median pending price in Suffolk was $560,000, which was 1.2% higher than a year ago. In Nassau, the median pending price was $679,000, or 2.9% lower than in March 2022.
The dip in prices follows a year in which mortgage rates rose steeply, adding hundreds of dollars to homebuyers’ monthly mortgage payments. As rates rise, fewer potential homebuyers can qualify for a mortgage, while others postpone a purchase. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.27% for the week ending Thursday, according to Freddie Mac. A year, ago the average was 5%.
Local real estate agents described a climate that still favors sellers because buyers have so few options to choose from.
“Typically when you have low inventory and high demand, you would imagine home prices are going to increase, and the market is going to heat up,” said Jared Garcia, a real estate agent at Weichert Realtors in Farmingdale. “I think part of the reason we’ve seen a leveling off is the rates did pop up. It definitely paralyzed a lot of buyers."
Garcia said that he has had multiple offers on recent listings but he’s seeing fewer extreme offers well above a home’s asking price, with most offers clustered around the same level.
“They’re making more sensible offers,” he said. “They’re not just sticking their neck out to get the house."
The higher mortgage rate environment and economic uncertainty about the potential for a recession has resulted in a slowdown in transactions. There were 1,640 closed sales across Long Island last month, which was nearly 33% fewer than in March 2022.
But Haggerty, of OneKey MLS, saw a silver lining in last month’s pending sales data, which covers deals that have gone into contract but not yet closed. There were 2,444 pending sales in March, which, while still lagging 2022 levels, represented a 30.8% increase from February.
Still, Long Island has half as many homes available for sale as it did in March 2020 before the pandemic fueled a surge in homebuying on Long Island. There were 4,710 homes for sale across the Island at the end of March, which was 4.5% fewer than a year ago.
Vanessa Gonzalez, an agent at Realty Connect USA in Hauppauge, who frequently markets properties in Suffolk County, said she has had seven listings sell in the past few weeks with multiple offers above asking price. The tight market has given buyers limited room to negotiate over terms.
“It’s not a buyer’s market where they can say, ‘Here’s my rider. I need all these repairs if you want me to buy your house.’ Absolutely not. But you do have a little more room if you pay a good price,” she said. "Right now what is killing us is we have no inventory. When we have no inventory, there is no way it will be a buyer’s market.”
Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.
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