Long Island houses that sold for less than the median price

It’s still a competitive seller’s market, as real estate agent Martin Sorrentino knows — he tried to sell a property in Levittown within just one weekend, and two open houses in the bitter cold still drew crowds of prospective buyers.

"We had about 200 people through the door in two and a half days," said Sorrentino, of Signature Premier Properties.

Even with 40 offers on the table (20 of them cash) and a short timeframe, the seller didn’t want to just accept anything.

"It was his childhood home, so he felt sentimental about the house," Sorrentino said. His client couldn’t bear the thought of it being torn down and renovated. So instead, they looked for a family to move in, and found one. The house sold for $500,000.

Between February and March, plenty of homes across Long Island closed below the median prices in their respective counties. Data from OneKey MLS showed a new record set in Nassau County this February: $752,000 as the median price for single-family sales, marking a 15.7% rise from the year before. Meanwhile, the median in Suffolk County increased by 9.3% from the previous year, to $600,000.

But there’s still hope for families dreaming of settling down at this price point, while competing against investors looking to flip. The same thing happened to Ronald Starrantino, of Coldwell Banker American Homes, who recently sold a property in Massapequa for $600,000.

"They probably could have gotten more for it," he said. "But she wanted people to buy the house to live in, instead of just leveling it."

A three-bedroom, one-bathroom ranch full of fairly recent updates closed for $550,000 in Bay Shore. Built in 1954, some of the renovations include upgraded plumbing and electricity, replaced cesspool and new basement windows. The house stands at 1,484 square feet.

As for selling points, "I think the property size is one," said Janis Thomson, of Keller Williams Realty. She co-listed the house with Debra Carpluk.

The house sits on a ½ -acre lot. "The backyard is so deep, it’s very well maintained and it was a good-sized kitchen for that style of home. And there are hardwood floors throughout."

The annual taxes are $7,326, and the property is served by the Brentwood Union Free School District.

The house was first listed on Jan. 2 and was off the market by the 8th, Thomson said. After several showings and two open houses, "we had multiple offers," she said. "Most of them were over asking [price]."

Thomson said pricing the house at $520,000 initially was meant to get people in the door.

"Between $500,000 and $600,000, you can get so many people there that the competition becomes fierce," she added. "It’s a tough market, particularly in that price range."

Selling a home at the height of the holiday season can be tough, said Joshua Whalley, of Douglas Elliman Real Estate. He sold a three-bedroom, one-bathroom ranch in Flanders for $550,000. It was on the market for 41 days.

"Whenever we list a house, we make a guess about the price and listen to the market," he said. "The activity prior to the offer was telling me the market wasn’t quite accepting what we were offering."

The house was built in 1998 and included a basement, which is a rarity for the neighborhood, Whalley said. The new homeowner could also enjoy a private beach just for residents nearby. It sat on a 0.22-acre lot.

The house came to the market on Nov. 30. After an open house that saw 10 prospective buyers within two hours, they didn’t get any offers, "which was bizarre," Whalley said. "At that price point, I was not expecting that."

The seller wanted to wait before making a price reduction, Whalley said, which led to a full price sale at the beginning of the year. It ended up being an investment property for the buyer.

The annual taxes are $4,001, since the property benefits from the Southampton tax levy, Whalley said. It is served by the Riverhead Central School District.

"Right now it’s important to pick agents that have a recent track record of success," Whalley said, "because the market is changing, and we have to have our thumb on the pulse."

A Cape in Levittown sold for $500,000, following a weekend of offers and interest that ended up shooting up elevating the price from its original $399,900.

"It was a cold, bitter weekend," said real estate agent Sorrentino. "And people were out there with their kids."

The price was the real driving factor behind the turnout. With that original listing price, "they don’t even care the condition it’s in," Sorrentino said.

The house contains three bedrooms and one bathroom, on a 0.14-acre lot. It was built in 1948. Among other updates, a new boiler was installed in 2023. The annual property taxes are $12,169. The property is served by the Levittown Union Free School District.

"$500,000 to $599,000 is a real hotspot right now," Sorrentino said. "And it’s almost impossible to find a house listed for less than $500,000."

The sellers were the very first owners of the home, Sorrentino said, and although they updated the kitchen, bathroom, siding and windows, the original floor plan stood the test of time.

"I was proud to represent the family," he said. "The father bought it from William Levitt himself, and they lived in it all these years."

A four-bedroom, two-bathroom Cape in Farmingdale sold for $731,500. It was originally listed for $749,000, said real estate agent Gurdeep Singh, of Omni Realty. He co-listed the property with Amanpreet Kaur.

"We found a good buyer and sold it within a month," Singh said.

The lot is 7,000 square feet, which was a selling point, he added. It also has a finished basement with a separate entrance from the backyard, with a gazebo around back.

"There were great features in the house," Singh added. "It had an updated kitchen, and nice-sized living room and bedrooms."

The property is served by the Farmingdale School District. The annual taxes total $11,877.

If the house is priced correctly right off the bat, it can sell in less than a week in the current market, Singh said.

"A four-bedroom with two full bathrooms, they can sell very quickly," he said. "It doesn't matter where the house is. The inventory is low, but the buyers are there."

Because of the pricing, "I had more phone calls on this one than I did on other homes," said Dean Graber, of Keller Williams Realty. His listing with agent Evantz Saint Gerard — a high ranch in Bay Shore — closed for $465,000.

The house contains three bedrooms and two full bathrooms, coming to a total of 1,248 square feet. The annual property taxes are $9,261, and the house is located within the Brentwood Union Free School District.

"The taxes were reasonable," Graber continued. "It’s a big piece of property, mid-block, and not too far from Sunrise [Highway] and the Bay Shore town."

The house got an acceptable offer during its first week on the market, but took several months to close, Graber said. It was built in 1998, and could use some updates inside.

"I felt this home had as much potential as any home in that price point, as did a lot of other buyers," he added.

The pricing was standard for this part of Bay Shore, but the size of the property made this one unusual, Graber said. The house sits on a 0.58-acre lot.

"There are more houses at this range, but a lot of them are smaller, little Capes," he said. "The value this home had was the square footage of the actual house, the layout and land around it."

Dana Bartel, of Compass, listed this Cape in Moriches right after Thanksgiving last year. It includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms, sitting on half an acre.

"From November to the beginning of January, people are more focused on day-to-day life and holiday plans," Bartel said.

After about 30 days on the market, it ultimately closed at $555,000. The house was first listed for $550,000.

Built in 1985, standout features include an en suite primary bedroom and a full basement with high ceilings, which can be accessed through an attached two-car garage.

"This house had a very large footprint," Bartel said. She added that creating another living space in the basement was possible with proper permissions from the Town of Brookhaven, or it has potential to become a home office or playroom.

The property also features private beach access, and borders on more than seven acres of town-owned green space. The annual property taxes are $12,398, and it is located within the William Floyd Union Free School District.

"We’re still in a phase where if something comes on the market and it’s appropriately priced, it doesn't stay on the market for very long," she said.

For this listing in Massapequa, Ronald Starrantino, of Coldwell Banker American Homes, received offers from people who hadn’t even seen the house in person.

"Massapequa is pretty hot right now," Starrantino said. "It’s a very desirable area."

The four-bedroom, two-bathroom Colonial was on the market for less than a week and closed for $600,000. The house was on the market for less than a week, and includes annual taxes of $14,327. The property is served by the Plainedge Union Free School District.

"Because of the pictures, I was getting a lot of investors calling," said Starrantino, attributing this to the house’s original shingles from 1954.

But his client was sentimental about the home, hoping to find someone to give it a new life, rather than tear it down completely. The buyers ended up being a family who "loved the area," he said.

But it does need a bit of TLC, given its age, Starrantino noted.

"The house is 70 years old," he said. "At 70 years old, even for people, things start falling apart." This included the old hardwood floors, and a kitchen and bathrooms in need of some upgrades.

But the roof was replaced in 2020 and with proper permits, the property could become a mother-daughter house — so there were plenty of possibilities ahead for this house with good bones.

This Bellmore ranch was "a hidden gem, but needed a ton of work," said listing agent Jennie Katz, of Blue Island Homes. Closing at $680,000, the house included three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The property is on a 0.22-acre lot, and the annual taxes are $14,263.

The house came on the market Nov. 4, at $749,000. "It was a little steep," Katz said. "Just because it needed a new kitchen and bathrooms, the floors needed to be sanded, it needed new windows, and the whole backyard needed to be graded."

It also was in need of new fencing, sprinklers and air conditioning: "It really was a handyman’s special."

Because of this, Katz came in and painted the interior herself. She also staged the house for prospective buyers, both virtually and in person.

"I wanted to show all the people going in what it could be, which I think really worked," Katz said.

Served by the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, the property offers views of Newbridge Pond and comes to a total of 9,400 square feet.

"The people that bought it were planning on really gutting it and just making it their own," Katz said.

This three-bedroom, one-bathroom split level home flew off the market for $665,000. It was a flipped property, with recent renovations that included a new kitchen, updated bathroom and hardwood floors. The annual property taxes are $14,569.

"The original list price was $629,999," said Christine Jansson, of Realty Maintained. She co-listed the property with Anthony Careccia. "So that generated a lot of interest, due to the price point. We did have multiple offers."

The house was listed on Jan. 4, and took 13 days to sell, Jansson said. It is served by the Levittown Union Free School District. The renovations took place between November and December 2023, and Jansson said the upgrades — particularly the kitchen — were huge selling points.

"It had a garage," she added. "It's a corner property, and that’s not necessarily something that people flock to in my experience, but a garage is always a plus."

A split-level in Glen Cove sold for $620,000 in an all-cash offer, said listing agent Joseph Lovaglio, of JDS North Shore Realty. It contains four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The house sits on a 0.24-acre lot, and is served by the Glen Cove City School District. The annual property taxes are $10,569.

"I sold that house in about four days," said Lovaglio. "It was probably on the market for less than two weeks, then I put it under contract."

The house was a bit outdated, Lovaglio said, but had lots of potential and a big backyard. And the windows had been replaced prior to the house hitting the market.

"The owners bought it new in 1960," he said. "When you walk in there, it was something out of the '70s, with shag carpet and stuff. But it had hardwood flooring underneath."

Although Lovaglio felt the price point was high for this home, there was another factor at play causing it to fly off the market as quickly as it did.

"There are about 28 houses for sale in Glen Cove right now," he said. "Historically, it should be around 100. So there's no inventory, and that’s what’s still driving the market."

By Rachel Weiss

rachel.weiss@newsday.com@RachMWeiss

Rachel Weiss joined Newsday in 2016. As a real estate/living multimedia reporter, Rachel writes feature stories and contributes to and appears in on-camera video packages. She was the lead reporter on Newsday’s LI Acts of Kindness series.