FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Home Buyer Tax Credit Fuels Long Island Home Sales

November 2009 - West Babylon, NY - The Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, Inc. (MLSLI) released the October 2009 housing statistics for Long Island that reported a $360,200 closed median home price for Nassau, Suffolk and Queens County.  This represents a decrease of 6.4% from last October’s closed median price of $385,000.  This compares favorably to the national level where the National Association of Realtors reported home prices are off by 8.5% from a year prior.

During the month of October this year, the number of contracted sales, which typically represents transactions over the past 30 days, was 3,061, up 46.6% over October 2008’s figure of 2,061.  Since 1996, MLSLI has only reported over 3,000 monthly contracted sales nineteen times, 4 of which have been reported over the past six months.   The combination of the $8000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, affordable prices, and record low mortgage rates, have all attributed to the relatively high number of contracted home sales being reported recently by the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island. 

The recent surge in home sales, combined with a decline in available inventory, is reflected in the supply, which is reported monthly by MLSLI.  The October 2009 month’s supply for Long Island is 10.2 months, which is 40% less than the 16.9 months reported in October 2008.  The month’s supply is determined by dividing the number of monthly sales into the available inventory.  While inventory levels are still at higher than historical levels, contracted sales activity over the past few months has trimmed the available inventory, reducing the month’s supply figure considerably.
“The housing market is moving in an “improving” direction.” says Joseph Mottola, CEO of MLSLI.  Mottola further states that, “With the extension of the tax credit, stable home prices, and a continued demand by families to take advantage of the quality of life offered to homeowners on Long Island, we will continue down the road of recovery well into next year.  “

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Press Release Contact:
Christina DeFalco
Public Relations & Communications Specialist
631-661-4800 Ext. 358

The Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, Inc., (MLSLI) a subsidiary of the Long Island Board of REALTORS®, Inc.(LIBOR) is a computerized network of more than 2,450 participating real estate offices. For more information about the MLS, and Long Island real estate, visit our web site at www.mlsli.com.