As the CEO of real estate database OneKey MLS, Richard Haggerty had high hopes for 2024.

"I was hoping it’d be a little bit more of a breakout year," he said in December.

Though the real estate industry saw policy and practice changes over the past 12 months, the Long Island market remains one of low inventory mixed with high demand, prices and interest rates.

"It’s kind of like a one-note report that we’ve had ever since the post-COVID boom," Haggerty said. He echoed a statement he made to Newsday in 2024: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many homebuyers and sellers made big life decisions in a condensed period of time, and market conditions have yet to regain their balance.

In the final month of the year, industry experts offered their thoughts on key takeaways from 2024.

Buyers are more willing to compromise now

"Today, buyers go in knowing that the property’s going to move quickly, the property’s going to go for generally over ask, and that they need to be flexible in terms of what their contingencies are."

— Karen Sharf, Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty agent

Credit: Viewpoint Photography/Pam Setchell

In 2024, Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty agent Karen Sharf saw her clients seek turnkey homes and accept certain market realities.

"Today, buyers go in knowing that the property’s going to move quickly, the property’s going to go for generally over ask, and that they need to be flexible in terms of what their contingencies are," she said.

Sharf said she does not see the market shifting in favor of buyers right now.

"I don’t see any turnaround in this market for it to become a buyer’s market any time in the near future," she said.

In November 2024, the median price of single-family homes sold in Nassau County according to OneKey MLS data was $775,000, Newsday reported in December. In Suffolk County, the corresponding figure was $651,000.

At the close of 2023, the median price of single-family homes was $705,000 in Nassau and $595,000 in Suffolk, Newsday reported last year based on OneKey MLS data.  

Don't wait for a massive interest rate drop

Haggerty still advises prospective sellers to put their homes on the market.

"I think that the time is now, because we’re not going to see the low interest rate environment that we had for many, many years," Haggerty said. "I don’t see that in the cards for 2025."

Haggerty said he could see the possibility of interest rates coming down, depending on the policies President-elect Donald Trump institutes when he takes office in January, but not "to the levels that we used to see."

Be patient, be nimble, be ready to move when you see a property that you like.

— Richard Haggerty, OneKey MLS CEO

"What we do see, though, is home prices at all-time highs," Haggerty said. "So, if they want to take advantage of that, now’s the time. Because the buyers do not seem to be dissuaded by those home prices."

To buyers, Haggerty offered: "Be patient, be nimble, be ready to move when you see a property that you like."

Nationally, much has changed

"A lot has happened in the past year," said Bryan Greene, vice president of policy advocacy for the National Association of Realtors. "The entire real estate landscape has changed."

Greene attributed this, in part, to the resolution of lawsuits brought by home sellers against the NAR over its broker commissions rules. Reached in March and finalized in late November, the settlement established a set of revised practices that took effect in August. Among new institutions is a written agreement between a prospective buyer and an agent showing a home to determine who will pay the buyer’s agent — and what amount.

Buyers going into the market working with their agents have to do a little bit more work.

— Bryan Greene, NAR vice president of policy advocacy

Historically, when a seller's agent listed a home, Greene said, the agent would include information about buyer's agent compensation. Sellers’ agents are still allowed to note on their websites or other platforms whether they are providing compensation to the buyer’s agent, Greene said. the settlement prohibits them from communicating this information on MLS specifically.

"Nutshell, what it means is, buyers going into the market working with their agents have to do a little bit more work, and there’s always potential that they will have more costs if sellers decline to pay the buyer’s agent," Greene said.

How NAR suit changed Long Island real estate landscape

As an agent who exclusively works with buyers, Lora Cusumano's real estate transactions have "always" involved a contract that detailed the terms of her payment. The settlement has not changed the way she does business, she said.

"When I made my offer, I always included the compensation portion," Cusumano added. "And it was either an accepted offer or not accepted offer or we negotiated on it."

Cusumano, who has been in the industry two decades and currently works for Lux House Hunters, said she would not typically look at the commission listed on OneKey MLS anyway. Instead, her focus has been on finding a property that would be the best fit for her client, she said.

Since August, when Long Island real estate agents began operating according to the terms of the settlement, Long Island Board of Realtors President Kevin Leatherman has been doing what he can to help local agents adapt.

"I thought he did a fabulous job for our area of trying to explain how to implement the settlement changes into everyone’s daily work," Cusumano said.

Leatherman likened the new process to hiring a contractor to paint a house. A homeowner would likely receive a written estimate and will have negotiated a fee before the painter starts working.

"Where the money’s coming from is the same," Leatherman said of the buyer’s agent commission. "What’s different is how it’s negotiated and how it’s communicated."

Both the buyer’s and seller’s agents are still to be paid using transaction proceeds, he said, but the seller no longer negotiates compensation for both agents. 

These changes, though, are unrelated to the high cost of homeownership, Greene said.

"High costs to buy a home are really the result of lack of housing production in the last two decades, and then, of course, we also now have very high mortgage interest rates," he said.

"2024 brought about the most amount of changes in our industry that we’ve seen cumulatively in one year."

— Jeanne Leonard, Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty agent

Credit: Viewpoint Photography/Pam Setchell

Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty agents Jeanne Leonard and Sharf have experienced a diverse set of markets during their careers.

Leonard, who has been a broker since 1986, said that "2024 brought about the most amount of changes in our industry that we’ve seen cumulatively in one year."  

In addition to the commissions changes, Leonard noted March 2024 revisions to New York State’s required property condition disclosure practices. Sellers, who could previously opt to pay the buyer $500 at closing instead, are now required to submit a property disclosure form.

In 2024, Leonard found herself working to educate her sellers about the change and bringing attorneys in earlier than she had for the previous years’ transactions.

While Leonard said she had a successful year, during which she matched buyers to homes after yearslong searches, she has heard from other agents that fluctuating mortgage rates presented great difficulty.

"I think the market still is very challenging for buyers," she said.

How to prepare for 2025

Leonard recommends those looking to buy or sell in the new year equip themselves with a strong team that includes a real estate attorney, real estate broker and mortgage professional.

"Do your homework, be educated, be ready to move fast," Sharf advised buyers.

Going into the new year, she is considering working with inspectors to put together a package for sellers to do a pre-inspection — an antidote to the challenges the property disclosure form requirement might present.

Do your homework, be educated, be ready to move fast.

— Karen Sharf, Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty agent

Leonard is optimistic about 2025, and said she hopes others will be, too.

"We still are extremely low on inventory, and the demand is higher than what we have as far as homes," Leonard said. "But I don’t think it should be taken in a negative context."

Instead, Leonard said this should motivate buyers and sellers who have been waiting to make a move to just make one.

"You’re never going to have a crystal ball to know what the market’s going to do," Leonard said.

By Arielle Dollinger

arielle.dollinger@newsday.com@aridollinger

Arielle Dollinger joined Newsday as a staff reporter in 2022. Previously, she covered local and national news as a freelancer for The New York Times, Newsday and other outlets.