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DESPITE SOFT ECONOMY, REAL ESTATE PRICES
ON LONG ISLAND CONTINUE TO CLIMB
By Greg
Anderson
Real estate prices continue to soar on Long Island, despite a soft economy and speculation that the bottom of the market will fall out soon.
The average price for a home in Nassau County was up 20percent for the year ending in January. In Suffolk County, the average price was also up 20percent. This data marks the beginning of the fifth consecutive year housing prices have shown double digit gains on Long Island.
Real estate experts attribute the increase in prices to incredibly low interest rates, new aggressive lending practices such as banks online competing for loans (LendingTree.com), and a more people investing in real estate rather than stocks.Otto Lugo, who owns a REMAX/West in West Hempstead and in Valley Stream, (FEELS THAT HOUSES ON LONG ISLAND ARE MORE AFFORDABLE THAN PEOPLE THINK.)
"Two civil servants today earn $125,000, and with good credit, can afford a home in the $300,000 range," Lugo said. “With interest rates close to 40-year lows, buyers get a lot of buying power.”
Lugo said that he already has seen "price resistance" for luxury houses on the North Shore at his REMAX/Fine Homes & Estates real estate office in Greenvale. He said, "Part of it might be Iraq" or the effects of the slow economy on executive compensation.
Joseph Canfora, the owner of East Islip-based Century 21 Selmar Realty, said it is rare to find a house on Long Island for less than $200,000.
"We sell houses that range from $250,000 to $500,000," Canfora said. “Many buyers who come to his East Islip office are Latino and Asian immigrants who plan to live in the area long-term.”
Dorothy Herman, chief executive of Melville-based Prudential Long Island Realty, said houses in the mid-level range also have been pushing up median prices.
"For a 50-year-old split-level, you're talking about the low $400,000s in Plainview and Syosset," Herman said.
For the current situation of real estate price on Long Island it is a simple matter of supply and demand. There is a great demand for real estate on Long Island than there is a supply.