Long Island Housing Market Starts To Tighten

Long Island housing sales are starting to slow as the prices of homes continues to climb, according to data released by the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island.

MLSLI released its monthly sales figures for the Island, which track the year-to-year and month-to-month changes in the region's housing market. The data shows a continued trend of higher prices, but lower inventory is making a tighter and more competitive market.

In Nassau County, the average sale prices of homes climbed from July to August, from $545,400 to $550,000. They also climbed slightly compared to last year, increasing by $5,000 from 2018 numbers — a 0.9 percent increase.

Though number of homes sold from July to August was up (by 31 units), the number sold in comparison to last year fell sharply. There were 1,501 homes sold last August compared to 1,321 this year — a 12 percent decline.

Things were similar in Suffolk County, too. The month-to-month average sale price from July to August stayed the same at $415,000, and increased from last August, when the average price was $400,000.

Sales, however, are slowing. There were 25 more homes sold in August of this year compared to July. But there was a decrease from last year, dropping from 1,835 sales in 2018 to 1,744 this August — a 5 percent decline.