Long Island Housing Market Continues To Sizzle

LONG BEACH, NY — Long Island housing prices remained near record-highs in March, according to data just released by OneKey Multiple Listing Service. Home prices in both Nassau and Suffolk counties continue to remain high, and the number of homes sold is way up.

Home sales in the area have rebounded hard following the cessation of real estate working at the beginning of the pandemic last spring. Since home sales resumed in the summer, inventory has been going fast, leading to bidding wars and high prices across the area.

The record was set in December, when median home prices reached an all-time high of $605,000 in Nassau and $480,000 in Suffolk.

Since then, prices have dipped a bit, but are still well above what they used to be. In March 2021, according to OneKey MLS, the median sales price in Nassau was $600,000, and in Suffolk it was $470,000. In Nassau, that price is 13.2 percent higher than the same time last year, and up 17.5 percent in Suffolk.

The number of homes sold is also way up year-over-year. Last March, there were 784 homes sold in Nassau. This year, it was 1,297 — a 65.4 percent increase. Suffolk also so a huge spike in sales, going from 1,033 last March to 1,489 this year — a 44.1 percent jump.

The pending sales numbers paint a rosy picture for April, as well. As of now, the pending median sales price for Nassau County homes is $640,000. In Suffolk, it's $500,000.

Experts attributed the explosion in prices to pent-up demand during the pandemic. When the housing markets opened again, it set off a flurry of home buying. And with limited supply, sellers were able to charge more for their homes, and buyers would get into bidding wars.