Where Long Island home prices rose the fastest in 2024

At a recent open house in Bethpage, Shawn Rahman walked through a gray-sided Colonial with a backyard and a driveway that he never had growing up in Queens.

Rahman, a 28-year-old accountant from Astoria, envisions the day when he won't have to spend time searching for parking after running a quick errand.

Plus, he's heard positive things about the area's Island Trees School District from his cousin, who moved to the area in February. Rahman and his wife are expecting their first child in December. 

But several days later, that house was in contract and Rahman's search continues. He expects it will take six to 12 months to find a house on Long Island for the couple and Rahman's mother-in-law. 

Our biggest concern is that prices are going to go up and never come down.

— Shawn Rahman, 28

"Our biggest concern is that prices are going to go up and never come down," he said. "For all we know, if we wait two more years this could be $1 million and then you're paying more for a house you could have bought today."

Rahman is one of the many aspiring buyers searching in communities where home prices grew the fastest on Long Island last year. Prices increased in nearly every community in the second half of 2024, from the million-dollar markets of Nassau County's North Shore to the most affordable parts of Suffolk County.

The median home price on Long Island, excluding the East End, in the first quarter rose 96% to $705,000 compared with the same figure a decade ago, according to data from Douglas Elliman and appraisal firm Miller Samuel. Meanwhile, there were one-quarter as many homes on the market  at the end of March as there were in 2015.

The shortage of housing will have consequences for Long Island's economy as its population ages in their homes, and its working-age population shrinks, said Moses Gates, the Regional Plan Association's vice president of housing and neighborhood planning.

"For any place to be successful, it has to make room for the people who want to live there," he said. 

Long Island has yet to see the number of homes for sale rebound after the buying frenzy that occurred during the pandemic years, said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel. 

How long could it take for the number of available listings to catch up with demand? Without a major economic downturn, Miller estimates five to seven years.

"This is a longer-term situation than we'd all like to see," Miller said. "It's the distortion the pandemic brought to the housing market."

While prices rose all over Long Island, six communities with at least 50 sales stood out. Newsday spoke to agents specializing in these hot areas — three in Nassau and three in Suffolk — about the factors driving higher prices and what buyers and sellers can expect in 2025.

Syosset

• Median price second half of 2024: $1.16 million
• Median price second half of 2023: $960,000
• Change: 20.3%

Homebuyers seeking out Syosset often cite the area's top-rated school district, agents said, which attracts buyers from New York City and beyond.

First-time homebuyers shopping in Syosset must make compromises between their preferred neighborhood, a home's condition and its price, said Jessica Liu, a real estate agent at Compass in Syosset.

Even those buying million-dollar homes in Syosset can expect to do some updating, depending on the home's size and location, she said.

"It's a journey for buyers to secure something they like," Liu said. "The people who secure a home are the people who adapt to the market quicker than others."

Hybrid work schedules have also made Syosset more attractive, with fewer homeowners needing to commute to the city five days a week, said Tim Lau, a real estate agent at Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty, who lives in Syosset.

But Lau said buyers have fewer options than they did in the past. In early May there were 39 single-family houses on the market, while around 100 would be more typical for the area.

"The first weekend of open houses we have multiple offers," Lau said. "It's still very competitive for buyers."

The fiercest competition is for listings priced below $1 million, which tend to be south of the hamlet's train station, said Daniel Gale Sotheby's associate broker Ira Gross.

"There's a frenzy when it comes to that because now they're competing against builders who are willing to pay $900,000 to $950,000, knock the house down and erect new construction," Gross said.

Sound Beach

• Median price second half of 2024: $500,000
• Median price second half of 2023: $420,500
• Change: 18.9%

One of Long Island's most affordable communities became less so last year as buyers drove up prices with offers above asking price in the hamlet on Suffolk County's North Shore.

"You can find a small piece of piece of property, a smaller, starter house that maybe you get for $500,000, which is affordable at this point in history," said Kerry Desmond-Totillo, an agent at Coldwell Banker American Homes, who bought her first house in Sound Beach in 1996 and later moved to Miller Place in 2003.

Residents who join the Sound Beach Property Owners Association also gain private beach access for about $350 a year. The hamlet is split between the Miller Place and Rocky Point school districts.

Rising prices have driven more families to bring multiple generations under one roof, said Nicholas Colonna, a real estate agent at Aliano Real Estate in Miller Place.

"If they combine forces financially, it puts them in a better position to purchase a more expensive home [and] to offset property taxes," Colonna said.

One reason for that is the level of competition in the area. Of the 67 homes that sold in Sound Beach in the second half of last year, about 76% of them sold for above the sellers' last asking price, one of the highest rates on the Island, according to Miller Samuel's data.

Gates, at the Regional Plan Association, said while that can work for some families it's a sign that Long Island's housing options aren't meeting buyers' needs.

"There might be situations in which folks would much rather have their own space and it's being done out of necessity," he said.

Homes on the market in Sound Beach range from a $400,000, four-bedroom Cape to a $1.2 million under-construction Colonial with private beach access. Originally developed as a summer cottage community in the late 1920s, many homes have been expanded over time as year-round residents moved in, Newsday previously reported.

Bethpage

• Median price second half of 2024: $762,500
• Median price second half of 2023: $650,000
• Change: 17.3%

When Nicole Fielding listed her Bethpage home in March, she was confident she would attract buyers to the house, which her grandparents bought in the 1960s. She later purchased the Colonial from her parents in 2020. 

She put the home on the market for nearly $850,000, and after the first weekend on the market, she had seven offers, including several above the asking price. After the first buyer she accepted backed out, she found another a few weeks later offering well above the asking price. The sale went into contract in April and has not yet closed. 

Fielding, a manager at an insurance company who works remotely, plans to move this summer and buy a condo in Florida. She said she wanted to move closer to family, and her 17-year-old daughter is applying to colleges there.

Now, she's starting to search for a condo priced between $300,000 and $500,000 in South Florida, where rising inventory and insurance costs have cooled the market. But ultimately, it was Fielding and her daughter's interest in moving that motivated her to sell.

"We are ready for our next adventure," she said.

Bethpage's central location between major highways and train trips to Manhattan in less than 45 minutes to Manhattan are among its selling points. There's also access to hiking, biking and world-class golf courses at Bethpage State Park.

While it has always been challenging to buy a home for the first time, sparse inventory and the frequency with which buyers are offering more than asking price has made it even harder, said Nikki Perri, a real estate agent at Signature Premier Properties in Wantagh, who listed Fielding's house. 

"Now, you're in this almost battlefield" with other buyers, she said.

Karan Singh, who checked out Fielding's open house in April, said he's determined to take his time to find the right house. Singh, a 25-year-old accountant from Flushing, is looking to purchase a home with his parents and his younger brother, Parmbir, preferably in Bethpage, Hicksville or Levittown.

The family has been looking on-and-off for about a year, Singh said. He knows houses are cheaper in other states, but he and his parents want to stay close to family and their jobs in Manhattan. 

"The market is just going up and up," Singh said. "We don't want to leave New York. We just have to improvise."

Rockville Centre

• Median price second half of 2024: $950,000
• Median price second half of 2023: $830,000
• Change: 14.5%

Rockville Centre's fast trips to Penn Station have always attracted New York City commuters. But the opening of Grand Central Madison in 2023 gave the village an additional boost, shortening riders' journeys to the East Side of Manhattan, said Liz Byrne, a broker at Harms Real Estate in Rockville Centre.

"That's our biggest new advantage," Byrne said.

Express train trips to Manhattan in abou t 35 minutes are just one of the village's draws along with the South Side School District, Hempstead La ke State Park, easy access to parkways and the village's bustling downtown with bars and restaurants.

Homes on the market in early May included a mix of Capes, Colonials and Tudor-style homes, ranging from about $550,000 to nearly $2.4 million.

Buyers haven't let up even though the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate remains above 6.5%, Byrne said. Four years ago, the average was 3%, according to Freddie Mac.

"Despite rates being high, the demand is there," she said.

Miller Place

• Median price second half of 2024: $680,000
• Median price second half of 2023: $600,312
• Change: 13.3%

Just like neighboring Sound Beach, Miller Place has attracted buyers to come east, said Kerry Desmond-Totillo, the Coldwell Banker agent who lives in Miller Place. 

"Compared to western Suffolk or Nassau County, you're going to be getting a lot more house and property for those prices," she said.

Miller Place offers more planned developments with similar style homes, such as the Sweetgum and Tallmadge Woods neighborhoods, than Sound Beach, she said.

Miller Place is bisected by Route 25A, and residents gain access to private Long Island Sound beaches through their homeowners associations. There were 18 houses on the market in early May ranging from a $549,000, four-bedroom splanch to a $1.9 million custom-built mansion with a backyard basketball court.

Nicholas Colonna, the Aliano Real Estate agent in Miller Place, said another draw to the area is the Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest, which offers hiking, cycling and hunting — and provides a natural buffer to additional development.

"These communities are never going to exceed a certain amount of homes and people," he said.

Shirley

• Median price second half of 2024: $509,500
• Median price second half of 2023: $450,000
• Change: 13.2%

Shirley offers some of the most affordable homes on Long Island, and a location that's well-connected to highways and beaches.

"Shirley has always been known as one of the more affordable areas and a great spot for first-time buyers," said Al Jacabacci, an agent at Exit Realty in Patchogue.

The hamlet is connected to Smith Point Beach, on the east end of Fire Island, by the Smith Point Bridge, which is slated to be replaced next year. A new $26.7 million renovation to the library in Shirley opened in November. 

About 7 in 10 homes that sold in the second half of 2024 in Shirley went for above asking price. One factor driving that competition is the area's lower property tax bills, with some homes offering annual property taxes of $8,000 to $10,000, said Jeffrey Jimenez, an agent at eXp Realty, who specializes in sales in the tri-hamlet area of Shirley, Mastic and Mastic Beach.

"What is really affecting it is what the buyers can afford," he said. "The smart buyers understand that there's no magic wand I can wave to make a house appear in an area for your price range."

By Jonathan LaMantia

jonathan.lamantia@newsday.com@jonlamantia

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.