Long Island home prices fall from summer highs as mortgage rates climb
Long Island home prices fell from record highs in September, as rising mortgage rates diminished buying power and significantly increased the monthly cost to own a home.
The median sale price among single-family homes in Nassau County in September fell to $860,000 from a record high of $910,000 in August. That figure increased 2.1% compared with the median in September 2025, according to data released Wednesday by OneKey MLS.
In Suffolk, the median price declined to $740,000 from a high of $760,000 in August. Compared with the previous year, the median price rose 2.8%.
Those year-over-year price increases are smaller than a year ago in both counties. In September 2025, median home prices increased year-over-year by 8.6% in Nassau County and 5.9% in Suffolk County, according to OneKey MLS.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Home prices on Long Island declined in September compared with the month before.
- That seasonal decrease in home prices is not unusual, and prices continued rising on a year-over-year basis.
- The median sale price rose 2.1% year over year to $860,000 in Nassau County and 2.8% to $740,000 in Suffolk County
Real estate analysts typically watch year-over-year changes more closely because of seasonal changes in home-buying activity. The median price has fallen from August to September in Nassau County in each of the past three years, and in Suffolk County that number fell or stayed the same in two of the past three years.
That makes it difficult to distinguish a seasonal change from a shift in the market, but real estate agents told Newsday they have started to notice the effects of higher mortgage rates and warned sellers should be realistic with their pricing expectations this fall.
"We’ve been in such a strong seller’s market for years that the correction is needed," said Angela Prince, a real estate broker at Weichert Realtors in Bay Shore. "To me, the market is starting to correct itself."
The cost of homeownership has increased over the past few weeks as mortgage rates rose. The average 30-year fixed rate was 7.4% as of Oct. 8, which is up nearly a full percentage point since July. In September, the 30-year rate averaged 6.86%, according to Freddie Mac.
Several factors support prices holding up as interest rates rise.
The number of for-sale listings on Long Island remains about half of what it was before the pandemic. In the third quarter of the year, about 62% of homes on Long Island, excluding the East End, sold for above asking price in a sign of the competitiveness of the market, Newsday previously reported.
The number of listings, already at a low level, dropped about 2% on Long Island as of the end of September compared with the same point last year, OneKey’s data showed.
Amy Girimonti, an associate broker at Howard Hanna Coach Realtors in Huntington, said she expects a slower fourth quarter because of higher mortgage rates but doesn't believe prices will fall compared with last year.
"I don't think home prices are going to change a lot," she said. "You may see fewer offers coming in."
Ultimately, it's a house's location, layout and condition that will play a bigger role in the price a seller will receive, Girimonti said.
In the Port Washington area, real estate agent Andrew Wu said attractive homes that are priced appropriately are still selling within a week or two of hitting the market.
"There’s just not that much supply, and there are buyers who have lost out in bidding wars" who are motivated to buy, he said.
Wu said he has noticed a change in the market compared with six months ago.
"It's a little tougher right now for buyers and sellers," he said. "For buyers, because of the rates, and for sellers because their expectations are so high, and they're not getting what they were hoping for."
A rising number of transactions in Suffolk bucked the national trend.
Closings increased in Suffolk County by nearly 5%, while single-family home sales in Nassau declined 4% year over year, the data show.
Nationwide, sales of existing single-family homes dropped 1.9% year-over-year, with a larger decline in the Northeast than other regions, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.
"August and September marked the two slowest months for home sales this year," Lawrence Yun, the association’s chief economist said in a statement. "Further increases in mortgage rates in recent weeks mean fewer buyers can qualify to purchase a home."
Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.
