West Babylon - September 2010 - The Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, Inc. (MLSLI) released August Long Island housing data for Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens. MLSLI reported a long Island monthly closed median home price of $380,000 for August 2010 and a total of 2,098 closed transactions. Last August, MLSLI reported a Long Island median home price of $385,000 with 2,543 closed sales. As expected, the number of sales has lessened in July and August as a result of the expiration of the tax credit on June 30th.
The recent Long Island housing data gives mixed signals about current market conditions. Nassau County reported 783 closed sales in August and a closed median home price of $445,000. In Suffolk County there were 778 closed sales in August with a reported $328,250 closed median home price. Queens reported 537 closed sales for the month and a median home price of $345,000. Suffolk County and Queens August home prices are lower than a year ago, 4.9% and 10.4% respectively; however, Nassau County home prices are 6.7% higher than August 2009. These figures are giving us indications that there is good news, and not so good news.
Although the number of closed sale transactions have dropped off considerably in July and August, moreover, the year to date figures indicate Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens are all ahead of transactions closed in the same time frame in 2009. In Nassau County, year to date figures (January 2010 – August 2010) show a total of 10,144 closed transactions compared to 8,458 the year prior. That’s a 19.9% increase and pretty significant. In Suffolk County, reports indicate a 20.9% gain in total year to date closed sales, and in Queens, there is a 20.7% increase.
Why is housing activity so vital to our economic recovery? Joseph Mottola, CEO of MLSLI says, “Housing activity is vital to the overall economy because with every home sale, there is a trickle-down effect whereby the new homeowner spends money on the things they need. For example, new homeowners need furniture, appliances, TV’s, as well as outside services such as landscaping and decks. The increased sales of these products and services will provide an economic boost and help to put people back to work, which is the key to our economic recovery.” Mottola further concludes that as more home sales occur, they will generate more jobs, which will boost consumer confidence, which will result in the large pool of potential buyers finally committing.
Source: The Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, Inc., (MLSLI)
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