Long Island housing market stays red-hot

LONG ISLAND - The Long Island housing market is absolutely red-hot, with prices reaching record-highs and homes flying off the market. 

Michael Lai and his wife were working against the clock to bid, buy and move before their son was born. A daunting task considering the hot housing market on Long Island.

"It wasn’t a once a weeks search, it was 3 to 4 showings a week," he said. "By the time your bid got there if it wasn’t immediate they had 4 to 5 offers over asking price."

After a six-month search, they ended up in East Islip.

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While there’s some more inventory trickling in, realtor Lisa Kennedy with Eric Ramsay Associates says homes are quickly getting snatched up as it’s still buyer-heavy.

"We’re going to continue to see people pay over asking unless something is exorbitantly overpriced which happens," Kennedy said.

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Kennedy predicts this trend will continue for at least another six months despite the increase in interest rates. She also sees buyers getting creative when it comes to closing.

"We have people whose parents are coming in and paying cash to get the deal for kids and then letting the kids mortgage it later because a cash deal is more attractive to a seller," she said.

According to OneKey MLS, the median sales price in December was $645,000 in Nassau and $525,000 in Suffolk which is up about $40,000 across Long Island than it was the year before.

Data from OneKey MLS shows in December there were 1,309 homes sold in Nassau and 1,726 in Suffolk last month - which is about 20-percent fewer homes compared to the year before.

Economist Dr. Martin Cantor explains people post-COVID have learned to live and work remotely and are more likely to stay put instead of return to an urban work setting.

"Statistics show the average house stays 1.7 months on the market when it used to be five months so it’s a hot market," he said.

Experts encourage prospective sellers to list their homes sooner than later to take advantage of the market and cash out for more while you can.