Ah, the real estate market. Everyone is wondering when it will get better. I ask myself this all the time.
However, Great Neck and its surrounding areas seem to be holding their own. Prices in Nassau County have started to slow their decline and hopefully will begin to stabilize. The question is when?
The Case-Schiller Index (John Case and Robert Schiller are two Yale professors), which I follow, looks at the markets in a very pragmatic and logical fashion.
It appears that in the good areas, prices could go down another 10 percent and in the outlying areas, prices could go down another 20 percent.
Understand, there is no guarantee that this will happen. Many variables affecting the sales of homes are in limbo. Jobs are the No. 1 thing that is holding back our market. When the jobs bill gets passed, I believe we may see some light at the end of the road.
Great Neck has had an excellent flow of new home, co-op and condo purchasers, as well as new tenants, who want the best quality education for their children. Also, the proximity to New York City, easy commute (when the LIRR does not breakdown!), 21 parks in the Great Neck Park District, (Steppingstone Park being the stellar shining jewel of our community as well as the 175-acre Kings Point Park), great restaurants, shopping, movies, Great Neck Arts Center (www.qreatneckarts.org), cultural events, and our fantastic street fairs each year.
One Auto Fest in September – In Great Neck Plaza on Middle Neck Road/Bond Street – put on by the Great Neck Plaza Business Improvement District and the Village of Great Neck Plaza and then an arts and crafts festival in May put on by the Village of Great Neck on Middle Neck Road. We attract thousands upon thousands of people from all over Long island, Queens and New York City who come out to enjoy the festivities.
We also have concerts and entertainment in the parks during the summer months (Steppingstone, lelpi and Allenwood parks) attracting the locals and out of towners to our communities (nine Villages in Great Neck).
These community-minded events always grab those who do not have those types of situations in the communities in which they live. It makes people want to live in Great Neck and its surrounding areas. Yes, there are other towns that put on events, and some festivals I just feel ours are the best.
We live in a higher-end, urban-suburban type town with its exclusive nine villages – Kings Point, Saddle Rock, Great Neck Estates, Village of Great Neck, Kensington, Russell Gardens, University Gardens, Lake Success and Thomaston. All just 22 minutes express train to New York City – on the good days!.
As of Sunday October 2, 2011, the prices and available inventory were as follows: coops and condos (237+ units) ranging from $84,000-$799,000, homes (244 units) from $250,000-$12,000,000 and rentals (76 units) from $1,200-$15,000 per month!
We have seen a very substantial drop in the number of units of coops – at the height 20 percent – number of homes on the market – a drop of 18 percent – and the number of rental units have dropped more than 50 percent. Some of this can be attributed to the sales of those units and some have just decided to wait until the market gets better. Question is when?
I will provide more statistics in the next article to breakdown those numbers, so a clearer picture can be seen as to the state of the real estate market in Great Neck. Watch for it next week!
Phil Raices is the owner of Turn Key Real Estate in Great Neck
