Renting on Long Island: Median rent up in Nassau, down in Suffolk, census says

While median rent in 2023 rose faster than median home values nationally, the trend line on Long Island was mixed, according to U.S. Census Bureau survey estimates released Thursday.

But the cost burden, or the money spent on housing and utilities, remains prohibitively high for Long Islanders, whether they are renters or homeowners, the data shows.

Local housing experts say the gross median rents and median home values highlighted in the bureau's 2023 one-year American Community Survey are another indicator of high housing costs on Long Island that exceed national and New York State levels, putting great pressure on many families. 

In Suffolk County, median rent has been falling for the past few years, while the county's median home values have been rising. And in Nassau, median rent increased while home values decreased. Both counties' trajectories differ from the national trend.

In Nassau, median gross rent overall rose from $2,093 in 2022 to $2,228 in 2023, a statistically significant change, according to the estimates. The increase prompted Gwen O'Shea, president and chief executive of Community Development Long Island, to exclaim, "Wow!" The Melville-based nonprofit develops and manages housing units and promotes affordable housing.

She said that 6.5% spike puts pressure on many residents in the rental housing market who are "already cost-burdened."

"This is in the standard market where we know that over ... 50% of Long Islanders in that rental market are already cost-burdened, meaning they are spending a much higher percentage of their income than is comfortable," O'Shea said.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recommends monthly housing costs should not exceed 30% of one's monthly income.

Fair market rents on Long Island — as determined by federal guidelines — in 2023 ranged from $2,059 for a one-bedroom to $2,470 for a two-bedroom to $3,175 for a three-bedroom, according to RentData.org.

O'Shea said with other rental properties that operate illegally,  "There is great variation on rental costs and often much higher than fair market rate because of the competitive nature of our market based on the fact that we don't have enough housing for our community members." 

The survey data show that Suffolk's median gross rent has been falling for the past few years, from $2,274 in 2021 and $2,224 in 2022 to $2,045 in 2023, a statistically significant drop. The median home value in the county, though, has been rising — from $549,500 in 2021 and $568,200 in 2022 to $584,800 in 2023, a statistically significant increase. 

In Nassau the median home value dipped between 2022 and 2023, going from $681,700 to $674,200, though that was not a statistically significant change, according to the estimates. 

Jonathan Miller, chief executive of the Manhattan-based real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel, said in an interview that the survey data on the median home values "are in the range of what we publish every quarter, in the low $600,000 ... Every quarter it ranged from $575,000 to $640,000" of home values in Nassau and Suffolk, minus the Hamptons and the North Fork. "Generally, the median for all of 2023 was $617,000."

Even with the slight dip in Nassau home values, as estimated by the survey — one that coincided with his firm's tracking early in 2023 — Miller said the "nominal decline" is "not the state of the market today, which is that home prices on Long Island are trending higher, at about a 10% rate, and the reason for that is that inventory remains extremely limited."

Miller added, "Median prices among single-family homes in both Long Island counties set records in May at $790,000 in Nassau and $651,000 in Suffolk."

According to the survey estimates, Long Island's median home values and median gross rents were higher than the estimates for the nation and for New York State.

The median gross rent for the nation was $1,406 in 2023, up from $1,354 in 2022. And the median home value for the nation was $340,200 in 2023 and $334,100 a year earlier.

For New York State, the median gross rent was $1,561 in both 2023 and 2022, according to the estimates. The median home value for the state was $420,200 in 2023 and $416,900 in 2022.