Mineola and Albertson have two of the healthiest housing markets in New York, according to a recent study by SmartAsset, a financial technology company.
Mineola ranked second and Albertson sixth in the state on SmartAsset’s third annual Healthiest Housing Markets Study, which assesses markets based on affordability, stability, fluidity and risk of loss.
Both communities outpaced the state average for how long residents stay in their homes — 18.5 years in Mineola and 22.5 years in Albertson — and the percentages of houses worth less than the value of current mortgages on them — just 3.5 percent in Mineola and 2.5 percent in Albertson.
Homeowners stay in their homes an average of 17.1 years statewide, and 13.4 percent of New York’s homes are worth less than the value of their mortgages, according to SmartAsset.
Albertson and Mineola also had a low rate of homes decreasing in value — 9.7 percent and 4.9 percent respectively, compared to 28.4 percent statewide — and average amounts of time a for-sale house stays on the market — 84.7 days and 84.8 days respectively, compared with 110.8 days statewide.
But they fell behind the state in terms of affordability, which SmartAsset measured as the monthly cost of owning a home as a percentage of household income.
Mineola residents on average spent 23.4 percent of their income on their homes, compared to 26.3 percent in Albertson and 21.4 percent statewide.
Civic and business leaders in the communities said their small-town feel and relatively low housing prices contribute to the health of their housing markets.
“The houses are not like Roslyn, where you go in there and they’re $1.2 million, so your average middle-class worker can afford to come in and buy a house, and stay,” said Ed Scott, president of the Albertson Square Civic Association.
Mineola has benefitted from what Tony Lubrano, president of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce, called the “Goldilocks effect” — a perfect combination of amenities and cheaper property.
That makes the village attractive to home buyers who can’t afford more expensive areas on the North Shore, but who don’t want to compromise when it comes to local services, Lubrano said.
“We kind of hit that sweet spot here where it’s a great place to raise a family and still an affordable place to raise a family,” he said.
Mineola’s downtown revitalization efforts, including the construction of new apartment complexes near its Long Island Rail Road station, have also supported its housing market by bringing “new money” into the village, Lubrano said.
Scott said he thinks Albertson’s lack of such urbanization has maintained the small town atmosphere that has made the community successful.
The hamlet also has a strong business district and a civic association that has worked to make it more attractive, Scott said.
“It’s growing, but it’s not growing at such a fast pace where all of a sudden we’re going to be Queens east,” he said.
Mineola and Albertson were among six Nassau County housing markets that SmartAsset ranked in its top 10 healthiest.
East Meadow ranked fourth, Wantagh was seventh, Hicksville was eighth and Salisbury was ninth.
