Rising Long Island home prices: Nassau hits $835,000, Suffolk $700,000

The median sales price for a single-family home on Long Island rose yet again in January compared with a year ago, as the number of home sales dropped amid last month's freezing temperatures, according to new data released Wednesday.

In Suffolk, the median home sale price rose 4.5% to $700,000 in January, compared with a year ago, according to data from OneKey MLS, the multiple listing service that covers Long Island.

In Nassau, the median sale price was $835,000, a 3.1% increase from January 2025.

The number of closed sales dropped in both counties in January compared with a year before.

In Nassau, the number of closed sales declined by 4.8% to 619, while Suffolk sales dropped 8.2% to 775 deals.

Long Island home prices have steadily risen over the past three years as the number of available homes fails to keep up with buyer demand, making it difficult for first-time buyers to enter the fray. But experts and agents said January's freezing temperatures also curtailed the number of homes listed, putting the market on ice before what should be a busier spring season.

The big freeze

There were fewer homes on the market in January, likely in part due to the massive snowstorm and icy weather that has blanketed Long Island, said Richard Haggerty, CEO of OneKey MLS.

The number of homes available for sale in Suffolk dropped 17.1% to 2,124. In Nassau, the number of homes for sale similarly declined, to 1,497, a 16.8% drop.

“Who would want to go out and look at houses when it's been just so bitterly cold?” Haggerty said.

Nationally, a colder January also pushed the number of home sales down by 4.4%, compared with January 2025, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. Home prices also rose, but by far less than the increases seen on Long Island.

Across the United States, the median home price increased 0.9% to $396,800 in January, up from $393,400. That’s far lower than the price increases seen on Long Island, mostly because Long Island just doesn’t have enough homes to meet buyer demand, said Steve Kent, an associate professor of economics at Molloy University's School of Business.

“We are an island. We can’t continue to expand,” said Kent, who also is the chief economist for the Long Island Association, a business advocacy group. “Some of the other markets that we compare ourselves to nationally have the ability to continue to grow. … That's not something that is easily done in Nassau or Suffolk, because there's very little open space to continue to add more supply.”

Waiting for the thaw

January generally tends to be a slow month for home sales on Long Island, said Mary Macaluso, an associate broker at Compass, based in Syosset.

But the harsh weather and higher interest rates — which have kept potential sellers with lower-rate mortgages from listing their homes for sale — helped put the market on ice.

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years and this is the slowest January I’ve had in a very long time," Macaluso said. “So many sellers don't have anywhere to go, so they're not putting their houses on the market and are waiting for the spring.”

Macaluso said she expects more sellers to list their homes in the spring, when more homeowners look to sell. If mortgage rates continue to decline, that could encourage more Long Islanders to put their homes on the market, she said.

Mortgage rates hit a peak of nearly 8% at the end of 2023 but have since dropped, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging at 6.09% as of Feb. 12, according to data from Freddie Mac. But during the pandemic, mortgage rates dropped significantly, to below 3%, and those who bought homes during the period of ultra-low rates are now less likely to sell and buy a new home with a higher-interest loan, Newsday reported.

Still, buyers are ready to sign on the dotted line given the stiff competition and few options, said Meg Smith, an associate broker at Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, based in Bay Shore.

“They’ve made peace with the fact that rates are going to be where they’re at, and they’re anxious to find something,” Smith said.