Long Island Housing Market Declining

Hat tip to Ben Jones at The Housing Bubble for these two links..

From Newsday:
LI housing market takes turn for buyers

"Welcome to the new world of real estate. Doesn't it look familiar?"

"It's been nearly a decade since the housing supply was this high and annual price increases were this low. Residential inventory is increasing at a record annual pace. And the median prices in Suffolk and Nassau counties are exactly the same as they were last June."

"The latest data from the Long Island Multiple Listing Service showed annual median price increases of 4.3 percent in April for both counties, with Nassau at $470,000 and Suffolk at $385,000. Nassau's price remained stable since March, but Suffolk's declined by 3 percent. Residential inventory, meanwhile, rose by 65 percent over the year in Suffolk County and 76 percent in Nassau County - each reaching levels not recorded as far back as the MLS records go, to 1980."

"And the housing supply ratio that shows how long it would take to sell out the inventory at the current pace stands at 10 months in Suffolk County and nearly nine months in Nassau - the highest levels since 1998 and 1997 respectively."

"But as the real estate market's prime selling season moves on, many are suggesting that it has been one of the slowest springs in the past six years. And that slowdown is likely to continue into the summer, experts said, pointing to the Federal Reserve's decision to increase short-term interest rates to 5 percent yesterday."

""Buyers are starting to negotiate and sellers are starting to give," Marten said. "The seller is starting to blink.""

From Long Island Business News:
Island housing is a mixed bag

"The days of eye-popping monthly real estate gains are now the stuff of real estate lore."

"Though Island housing prices remain up year over year, Suffolk battled a moderate price drop in April and Nassau remained stable, according to the latest statistics from the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island."

"That's not the greatest news for sellers, but buyers have plenty of homes to choose from: The region's inventory skyrocketed more than 50 percent in the last year."

"The crushing wave of frenzied buyers competing for homes appears to have receded. But more sellers are still trying to cash in, especially in Nassau."