Is It a Buyers or Sellers Real Estate Market?

The Long Island Median Home price increased this October compared to October of last year. Inventory is up this month which means that more homes are on the market than last year at this time.

So, is it a buyers or sellers’ market? And, what determines this?

Inventory levels, specifically the “Months Supply of Inventory.” This number indicates how many months it would take the market to absorb the active inventory based on current number of monthly transactions. Generally, a balanced market has a 6 month supply of inventory. If it’s less than 6.0, sellers typically have gained asking power. When it’s starts to tick above 6.0, buyers begin to have some negotiation power.

Below is a snapshot on how the real estate market is doing in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens.

MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY: 4.7 

LONG ISLAND MEDIAN HOME PRICE IS UP: 4.95%

The October 2019 closed median price for Long Island, which includes Nassau, Suffolk and Queens, was $488K representing a 4.95% increase over last October.

NASSAU COUNTY MEDIAN HOME PRICE IS UP: 2.4%

Nassau County reported a $537,500 closed median home price in October representing a 2.4% increase over $525,000 last year.

SUFFOLK COUNTY MEDIAN HOME PRICE IS UP: 5.2%

Suffolk County reported a closed median price of $405,000, which represents a 5.2% increase over $385,000 reported a year ago.

QUEENS MEDIAN HOME PRICE IS UP: 4.6%

Queens reported a closed median home price of $596,000, representing an increase of 4.6% over $570,000 of October 2018.

INVENTORY IS UP: 3.5%

The total number of Long Island residential inventory in October 2019 was 19,939 representing an 3.45% increase over last October.

*Source: Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, Inc.