Nassau County Just Hit $850,000. Here’s What That Means for Long Island’s Housing Market.
Long Island Housing Market Report — May 2026
Estimated read time: 6–7 minutes
Prices Keep Rising. Fewer Homes Are Selling. Welcome to Long Island's May Market.
There's a paradox at the heart of Long Island's housing market right now, and May 2026 put it in sharp relief. Home prices aren't just holding; they're surging. Nassau County's median sale price hit $850,000 last month, a number that would have seemed unimaginable a decade ago when the county median was closer to $445,000. Suffolk County reached $680,000. Put them together and Long Island's blended median came in at $765,000, nearly double the national median of $429,300.
And yet, fewer homes are selling. Closed sales fell year over year in both counties, while pending sales are climbing, new listings are essentially flat, and inventory is barely budging. What you have is a market where demand continues to outrun supply, and sellers locked into mortgages well below today's 6.5% rates aren't in any rush to move.
For buyers, it's a market that keeps raising the bar. For sellers, it remains a very good time to make a move, if you can figure out where you're going next. Here's what the numbers are telling us.
Median Sales Price: Long Island Pricing Defies Gravity
Suffolk County: $680,000, up 3.0% from April's $660,000 and up 7.8% from May 2025's $631,000. Nassau County: $850,000, up 9.0% from April's $780,000 and up 13.3% from May 2025's $750,000. Combined Long Island: $765,000, up 6.3% year over year.
Nassau's 13.3% year-over-year jump is the headline number of the month. In dollar terms, the median Nassau home sold for $100,000 more than it did twelve months ago. That's real, meaningful appreciation building wealth for homeowners while raising the bar for buyers. Suffolk's 7.8% gain reflects the same dynamic: too few homes chasing too many motivated buyers, a healthy local job market, and sellers who bought at 3% rates and have no intention of trading up at 6.5%.
Closed Sales: Volume Is Down, But Context Matters
Suffolk County: 944 closed sales, down 8.3% from April's 1,030 and down 12.1% from May 2025's 1,074. Nassau County: 702 closings, down 6.0% month over month and down 10.1% year over year from last May's 781. Combined Long Island: 1,646 closings, down 7.4% year over year.
A 10-12% drop in closed sales sounds alarming until you remember the context. When there aren't enough homes to sell, fewer homes close. That's a supply problem, not a demand problem. Nationally, existing home sales ticked up 3.2% in May to an annualized rate of 4.17 million, a sign that markets with more inventory are seeing more activity. Long Island's story is simple: not a lack of buyers, but a lack of homes to buy.
Pending Sales: The Forward Momentum Is Real
Suffolk County: 1,366 pending sales, up 8.2% from April's 1,262 and up 6.7% from May 2025's 1,280. Nassau County: 1,110 pending sales, up 19.9% from April's 951 and up 11.6% from last May's 995.
Pending sales are the market's pulse, telling you what's happening before the paperwork is done. Nassau's nearly 20% month-over-month spike in signed contracts is a strong signal that spring buyers came out in force. There are more buyers in contract right now than there were a year ago, which is a bullish indicator for June and July closing numbers.
New Listings: Sellers Are Showing Up, Just Barely
Suffolk County: 1,835 new listings, down 2.2% from April's 1,877 and down 1.2% from May 2025's 1,858. Nassau County: 1,414 new listings, down 7.1% from April and down 3.5% year over year from last May's 1,465.
More sellers are entering the market than during the inventory drought of 2022-2023, but the pace is still retreating slightly from a year ago. The reason is straightforward: most would-be sellers are also buyers who face the same affordability math on the other side of the transaction. For those who are listing, conditions remain excellent. Well-priced, well-presented homes are meeting qualified buyers almost immediately.
Homes for Sale: Inventory Is Essentially Frozen
Suffolk County: 3,561 active listings, down 5.7% from April's 3,776 and essentially flat year over year (+0.2% from May 2025's 3,554). Nassau County: 2,744 active listings, down 5.1% from April's 2,858 and down 0.8% from May 2025's 2,767.
Year over year, inventory on Long Island is virtually unchanged, which means the fundamental supply problem isn't improving. Nationally, inventory has risen to 4.5 months of supply, giving buyers in many markets more breathing room. Long Island sits at 3.2-3.3 months, firmly in seller's market territory. The April-to-May dip in active listings reflects homes going under contract quickly, which connects directly to those strong pending sales numbers.
Median Days on Market: Still Fast, Slightly Slower Than Last Year
Suffolk County: 22 days, unchanged from April and down from last May's 23 days. Nassau County: 26 days, up from April's 22 and flat versus last May's 26 days. Combined Long Island: 24 days, up 9.1% year over year.
Long Island homes are still moving at a brisk pace, far faster than the national median of 49 days. The slight year-over-year uptick from 22 to 24 combined days is worth watching as a subtle softening signal, but in practical terms, three and a half weeks is still a very competitive market. Buyers need to be pre-approved and ready to move quickly when the right home appears.
Months Supply: Seller's Market Territory
Suffolk County: 3.2 months, down from April's 3.4 and down from last May's 3.4. Nassau County: 3.3 months, down from April's 3.5 and in line with last May's 3.3.
A balanced market sits at 4-6 months of supply. At 3.2 and 3.3 months respectively, both Suffolk and Nassau remain well below that threshold. The national figure of 4.5 months tells the broader story: much of the country is approaching balance, while Long Island is not. Until supply climbs meaningfully into that 4-6 month range, the pricing dynamics we're seeing have no structural reason to reverse.
Long Island vs. the Nation: A Market in Its Own Category
Comparing Long Island to national housing data is almost like comparing two different economies. Long Island's combined median of $765,000 is 78% above the national median of $429,300, and the gap is growing as local appreciation of 8-13% year over year outpaces the national rate of roughly 2%. Homes here sell in 24 days on average versus 49 days nationally, nearly twice as fast. And at 3.2-3.3 months of supply against the national 4.5 months, Long Island buyers face a more competitive environment than most of the country.
What this means for you: don't let national housing headlines shape your expectations here. When you read that the market is normalizing, that story is mostly playing out in Sun Belt cities where builders have added meaningful supply. Long Island's constraints are structural, geographic, regulatory, and political, and they aren't resolving anytime soon.
Looking Ahead: What Summer 2026 May Bring
Mortgage Rates
The 30-year fixed rate is averaging 6.52% as of the week ending June 11, per Freddie Mac, down from 6.84% a year ago. With inflation running at 4.2% in May, well above the Fed's 2% target, a rate cut in the near term looks unlikely. The Mortgage Bankers Association sees rates staying around 6.5% through 2026, while Fannie Mae is more optimistic, projecting a decline toward 5.7% by year-end.
Inventory
The inventory unlock that buyers have been waiting for hasn't materialized. Spring 2026 brought modestly more listings than the lows of 2022-2023, but not enough to shift the supply-demand balance. Until rates fall enough to loosen the lock-in effect on current homeowners, constrained supply and elevated prices are the most likely outcome.
Economic and Geopolitical Factors
Ongoing instability in the Middle East is keeping energy prices elevated and contributing to the inflation environment that's holding mortgage rates up. Long Island's job market and local economic fundamentals remain solid, which continues to support housing demand. The most likely outlook for summer 2026: strong buyer demand, limited supply, prices holding or edging higher, and correctly priced homes continuing to sell quickly.
The Bottom Line
For Sellers: You're still in a strong position. Nassau at $850,000 and Suffolk at $680,000 reflect a market that rewards sellers who price correctly and present their homes well. Days on market under 25 and months of supply under 3.5 mean qualified buyers are active and motivated. Pricing discipline still matters, though. Homes that aren't positioned right are seeing longer timelines even in this environment.
For Buyers: This market won't give you much margin for hesitation. But the strong pending sales numbers in May confirm that buyers are successfully making deals. They're doing it with preparation, speed, and the right team behind them. Get pre-approved, know your priorities, and be ready to act. Waiting for a significant price drop or a major rate cut isn't a reliable strategy, and the data suggests Long Island prices have little intention of coming down.
Data source: OneKey(R) MLS via InfoSparks (C) 2026 ShowingTime Plus, LLC. National data: National Association of REALTORS(R), Redfin, Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (week ending June 11, 2026).
