A House On LI Under $350K, Even With Pandemic Real Estate Boom

SUFFOLK COUNTY—The Long Island real estate market continues to be a booming sellers' market but realtors say those hoping to break into first-time home buying shouldn't be discouraged. Houses under $350,000 are available but homes are selling quickly at every price point, with scarcer inventory as the pandemic bump and lowered interest rates continue to drive demand.

Tesla Carrasquillo lives in North Babylon and is a realtor for Keller Williams Points North in Woodbury. She recently helped her own parents, with a similar budget, buy on Long Island.

"My parents were first-time home buyers from the Upper West Side. They never thought they could buy a house here and we made it happen," she told Patch.

Carrasquillo says her parents found a beautiful three-bedroom home in Patchogue, but she had them looking at listings in the $299,000 range, knowing they would likely sell in the $350,00 range in the hot market.

Heading as far east as you can, she advises, is a good strategy in this price range.

"You're going to have to be okay with doing some work or you have to be willing to go east."

Listings $350K and under in the Lindenhurst, Copiague and Amityville areas are available, she explains, but buyers need to be willing to take on more of a fixer-upper.

According to MLS reports, February median home sales for Suffolk were $475K and $600K in Nassau, gains of 18% and 14% respectively over last year.

But Carrasquillo points out that the benefits and needs of home ownership for buyers don't cease in a tighter market.

"If you need a home, you will still need a home in any market," she says.

And the benefits of home buying still apply at lower budgets, considering Long Island's high rental prices, she adds.

Many of the buyers looking for homes under $350K are young couples, families having a first child and wanting to become first-time buyers. Carrasquillo is also still many buyers leaving New York City and rentals and adding to the local demand.

"If you want to live on Long Island at that price point you can, you just need to be flexible and be creative and proactive. People who really, really want a home, they do that work," she says, and keep seeking out available homes and coming up with strong, creative offers when they do attempt to buy in the sellers' market.