Long Island Real Estate Market Data

Here is an overview and analysis of the Long Island housing market for January of 2011 compared to December 2010 and January 2010.

The Data:

Long Island Median Home Price:

January 2011 = $360,400

December 2010 = $360,000

January 2010 = $365,000

Monthly Closed Sales Activity:

January 2011 = 1,733 properties

December 2010 = 2,149 properties

January 2010 = 2,028 properties

Monthly Contracted Sales Activity:

January 2011 = 1,643 properties

December 2010 = 1,631 properties

January 2010 = 1,710 properties

Available Residential Inventory:

January 2011 = 30,051 properties

December 2010 = 28,998 properties

January 2010 = 28,278 properties

The Analysis:

As reported by the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island

The closed median home price on Long Island, which includes Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens, for January 2011 was $360,400 representing a 1.3% decrease over the year prior.

Nassau County reported a closed median home price of $420,000 representing a 1.2% increase from the prior year.

Suffolk County reported a closed median home price of $318,750 compared to $317,000 from the prior year that represents a 0.6% increase and Queens reported a closed median home price of $375,000 which represents the highest gain of 2.7% over a year ago.

What's interesting is that a natural oddity occurred in January 2011 in terms of closed median home prices. All three counties reported slight increases in current home prices compared to the prior year, however, the overall long Island median was 1.3% lower. This can happen when a higher share of closed sales on a given month took place in a county that has a lower Median Sales Price.

The contracted (pending) median sales price of a Long Island residential property was $340,000 in January 2011, down 1.4% from $345,000 in the same period last year. MLSLI reported a decrease in the number of closed sales in January 2011, as well as a decline in the number of contracted sales.

Both numbers can be explained by the unusually cold and snowy weather that hit the Northeast during January.