Long
Island Home Prices Appreciate 14% in 2003
The Multiple Listing service of Long Island, Inc. (MLSLI) released their
December 2003 Activity Report and the number of real estate transactions
for Long Island, which includes Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties,
during 2003 was an unprecedented 28,583! This number represents an increase
of 15% over the record setting 24,660 recorded in 2002. Closing Gross
Sales volume for 2003 exceeded $11.2 billion, representing an increase
of 32% over 2002's volume of $8.5 billion. More transactions and higher
prices -- ie: another good year to have been in real estate!
The average sales price for homes sold through the Multiple Listing
Service of Long Island in 2003 was $393,425, representing a 14% increase
over the 2002 average of $344,660. In 2002, the MLS of Long Island reported
a 26% increase in home prices on Long Island for the year 2002.
Suffolk County reported an average sale price of $357,090,
where in 2002 the average was $306,252.
This represents an increase of
16.6%.
Nassau County reported an average sales price of $479,484,
where in 2002 the average was $429,911.
This represents an increase of
11.5%.
Queens County reported an average sales price of $334,858, where in
2002 the average was $280,979.
This represents an increase of 19%.
During the first half of 2003, monthly residential inventory levels
(ie: homes for sale) averaged around 14,000, but over the next six months
declined slightly. The year ended with a December (2003) inventory levels
of 12,457, representing a 7% increase over last December's (2002) figure
of 11,633.
Low mortgage interest rates and a strong underlying demand for housing
is what continues to support the home prices reported over the past two
or three years. Looking ahead to 2004, it seems that the fundamental
conditions are in place to yield a continued strong housing market.
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