No Strong Finish for Long Island Real Estate in 2011

When real estate sales in Nassau County went up 2.5% over last year in our third quarter, I thought there was a good chance that we would match or slightly exceed last year's production. Unfortunately both October and November have been a bit down from last year's numbers and the chance to show improvement in activity by the end of the year has faded. It's not all bad news since some local markets are thriving. Our own town of Plainview is up 9% over last year. Levittown a very big market in Central Nassau County is up 6%. Wantagh which has been up all year is still ahead 10%. Massapequa another big market in Eastern Nassau County is only down 2% over last year's numbers. There are glimmers of hope with the national economy especially the job statistics. We live in hope of a slightly better performance over the next year. Although the number of sales can improve, prices will stay lower into the spring. A strong spring would bring not price increases but price stability, which would be a great thing for the market on Long Island.