Long Island home prices climb to new heights as mortgage rates ease

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The prices of Long Island homes continued to rise last month as mortgage rates fell. 

The median price of closed single-family home sales in Nassau County reached $835,000 in August, an all-time high and an increase of 11.3 percent from the $750,000 median price recorded in August 2023, according to statistics from OneKey MLS. 

Home prices also set new records in Suffolk County last month. The median price of closed single-family home sales in Suffolk was $680,000 in August, an 8.8 percent rise from the $625,000 median recorded in August 2023. 

Prices of condominiums on Long Island also soared to record highs last month. The median price of closed condo sales in Nassau rose to $922,500 in August, a spike of 36.7 percent from the $675,000 median condo price in August 2023. In Suffolk, the median price of closed condo sales jumped to $534,000 last month, an increase of 17.4 percent from the $455,000 median condo price recorded in August 2023. 

Mortgage rates continue to retreat. As of Monday, Sept.16, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage in New York was 5.93%, according to NerdWallet.com. That’s a significant drop from the mortgage rate that eclipsed 7 percent a year ago. 

Home sales were mixed last month, down year-over-year in Nassau and up in Suffolk. There were 772 single-family homes contracted for sale in Nassau in August, down 5.5 percent from the 818 single-family homes contracted for sale in August 2023. 

In Suffolk, there were 1,174 single-family homes contracted for sale last month, an increase of 13.8 percent from the 1,032 single-family homes contracted for sale in August 2023. 

Inventory drifted lower last month. There were 5,562 Long Island homes (single-family, condos and co-ops) listed for sale with OneKey MLS at the end of August. That’s down 7.4 percent from the 6,008 homes that were listed for sale at the end of July, and slightly lower than the 5,666 homes listed for sale at the end of August 2023. 

The continued dearth of housing supply has shortened the length of time a listing is on the market before it sells. The average days on the market for a single-family home in Nassau last month was 44 days, down from 50 days in August 2023. In Suffolk, the average days on the market for a single-family home last month was 43 days, down from 46 days in August 2023.