Long Island Housing & Real Estate Statistics

Long Island, New York remains one of the more expensive suburban housing markets in the country. Home prices continue to rise in both Nassau County and Suffolk County, while property taxes, mortgage rates, rents, limited housing supply, and the cost of new construction continue to influence affordability.

As of August 2026, OneKey MLS reported a median closed sale price of $911,000 for single-family homes in Nassau County and $760,000 in Suffolk County. Nassau’s median was 4.7% above August 2025, while Suffolk’s was 7.0% higher. These monthly sale-price figures should be distinguished from Census estimates of the median value of all owner-occupied housing units, which are based on multi-year survey data.

This page combines recent MLS market reporting with housing data from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Freddie Mac, and public property-tax research. Because the sources use different reporting periods and methodologies, each statistic is identified by its applicable year or date wherever practical.

Recent Long Island Housing Snapshot

Metric	Nassau County	Suffolk County	Long Island Context
Median Single-Family Sale Price (August 2026)	$911,000	$760,000	County medians should not be averaged into a combined median
Year-Over-Year Sale Price Change	+4.7%	+7.0%	August 2026 vs. August 2025
HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent (FY2026)	$2,747	$2,747	Nassau-Suffolk HUD Metro FMR Area
HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent (FY2027)	$2,689	$2,689	Scheduled to take effect October 1, 2026
Housing Units (July 1, 2025 Estimate)	480,591	583,777	1,064,368 combined
Owner-Occupied Housing Rate (2020–2024)	81.9%	82.2%	More than four-fifths in each county
Median Owner-Occupied Home Value (2020–2024)	$684,700	$578,400	Separate Census measure from current MLS sale prices
Median Gross Rent (2020–2024)	$2,252	$2,255	Nearly identical county medians
Median Monthly Owner Costs With Mortgage (2020–2024)	$3,795	$3,320	Census measure for existing homeowners with mortgages
Building Permits (2025)	821	1,399	2,220 combined

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, OneKey MLS, and HUD Fair Market Rent schedules. The August 2026 sale prices are monthly single-family closed-sale medians and can fluctuate from month to month. Census housing values, rents, owner costs, and occupancy rates shown above are based primarily on 2020–2024 estimates and are not intended to represent August 2026 market transactions.

Current Home-Sale Market

Long Island home prices remained elevated during the summer of 2026. According to OneKey MLS market statistics, Nassau County’s median single-family closed sale price reached $911,000 in August 2026, compared with $870,000 in August 2025. Suffolk County reached $760,000, compared with $710,000 one year earlier.

County	August 2025	August 2026	Year-Over-Year Change
Nassau County	$870,000	$911,000	+4.7%
Suffolk County	$710,000	$760,000	+7.0%

Nassau generally carries the higher countywide median, reflecting its closer proximity to New York City, commuter access, high household incomes, and limited land supply. Suffolk County covers a much larger and more varied housing market, ranging from western commuter suburbs to North Shore and South Shore communities and the high-cost East End.

A single “Long Island median price” is not calculated on this page by averaging the Nassau and Suffolk medians. A statistical median for the two-county region would need to be calculated from the combined underlying sales records; averaging two independently calculated county medians would not produce a true Long Island median.

Census Housing Profile

The most recent Census QuickFacts housing estimates provide a broader picture than monthly real estate transactions. The Census estimates 480,591 housing units in Nassau County and 583,777 in Suffolk County as of July 1, 2025, for a combined total of more than 1.06 million units.

Homeownership remains particularly high. Census estimates for 2020–2024 show owner-occupied housing rates of 81.9% in Nassau and 82.2% in Suffolk. The Census also reports median owner-occupied housing values of $684,700 in Nassau and $578,400 in Suffolk.

Those Census values should not be confused with current MLS sale prices. The Census measure covers the estimated value of the full owner-occupied housing stock and uses multi-year survey data, while the OneKey MLS figures describe homes that actually closed during a particular reporting period.

Rental Costs & HUD Fair Market Rents

Rental costs also depend heavily on the measurement being used. Census median gross rent represents survey estimates for occupied rental housing. HUD Fair Market Rents are federal program benchmarks used in the Housing Choice Voucher program and other housing programs. Neither measure should automatically be interpreted as the current asking rent for a newly listed apartment.

For 2020–2024, the Census Bureau reports median gross rent of $2,252 per month in Nassau County and $2,255 in Suffolk County. HUD currently assigns a $2,747 two-bedroom Fair Market Rent to the Nassau-Suffolk HUD Metro FMR Area for fiscal year 2026.

HUD Nassau-Suffolk FMR	Studio	1 Bedroom	2 Bedrooms	3 Bedrooms	4 Bedrooms
FY2026	$1,992	$2,379	$2,747	$3,563	$3,768
FY2027	$1,964	$2,285	$2,689	$3,458	$3,671

HUD has published the FY2027 schedule, under which the Nassau-Suffolk two-bedroom FMR is $2,689. The FY2027 rents are scheduled to become effective October 1, 2026, unless a valid local request for reevaluation delays implementation for the area. Until then, the FY2026 schedule remains the applicable benchmark.

Illustrative Home-Buying Affordability

The following calculation illustrates the cost of purchasing a home at the August 2026 county median single-family sale price. It assumes a 30-year fixed mortgage, 20% down payment, and a 6.95% mortgage rate, matching the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey average reported September 17, 2026.

Property taxes are estimated using county-level effective owner-occupied property-tax rates reported in the Tax Foundation’s 2026 county comparison: approximately 1.72% for Nassau and 1.62% for Suffolk. Applying an effective countywide rate to a current sale price is only an illustration and is not an estimate of the actual tax bill for a specific home.

Illustrative Measure	Nassau County	Suffolk County
August 2026 Median Single-Family Sale Price	$911,000	$760,000
20% Down Payment	$182,200	$152,000
Illustrative Mortgage Amount	$728,800	$608,000
Mortgage Assumption	30-year fixed mortgage at 6.95%; principal and interest only
Estimated Monthly Principal & Interest	≈ $4,824	≈ $4,025
Illustrative Effective Property-Tax Rate	≈ 1.72%	≈ 1.62%
Illustrative Monthly Property Tax	≈ $1,306	≈ $1,026
Monthly P&I + Illustrative Property Tax	≈ $6,130	≈ $5,051
Median Household Income (2020–2024)	$146,202	$130,686
Annual P&I + Illustrative Property Tax	≈ $73,561	≈ $60,608
P&I + Illustrative Tax as Share of Median Household Income	≈ 50.3%	≈ 46.4%
Home Price-to-Median Household Income	≈ 6.2×	≈ 5.8×
Current FY2026 HUD 2BR FMR	$2,747	$2,747
Annual HUD 2BR FMR as Share of Median Household Income	≈ 22.5%	≈ 25.2%

Important: This is an illustrative calculation, not a lending quote or estimate of the actual cost of owning a particular property. It excludes homeowners insurance, flood insurance where applicable, maintenance, utilities, homeowners-association charges, mortgage closing costs, and other expenses. Property-tax bills on individual Long Island homes can vary substantially by assessment, municipality, school district, village, special district, exemptions, and other factors. The income comparison uses countywide median household income and does not represent the finances of an actual buyer.

Property Taxes & Housing Costs

Property taxes are a major component of Long Island housing costs. The Tax Foundation’s 2026 county data reports an effective property-tax rate of approximately 1.72% for owner-occupied housing in Nassau County and 1.62% in Suffolk County. Its underlying median property-tax measure is reported as more than $10,000 annually in both counties.

Countywide effective rates are useful for broad comparisons but should not be used to predict the tax bill on a particular house. Long Island property taxes reflect multiple taxing jurisdictions and can vary significantly among school districts, towns, villages, and special districts. Exemptions and local assessment practices can also produce substantial differences between similarly priced homes.

Census data provides another perspective on established homeowners. For 2020–2024, median selected monthly owner costs for homeowners with a mortgage were $3,795 in Nassau and $3,320 in Suffolk. Those Census figures reflect households that already own homes, including many owners who purchased or refinanced when prices and mortgage rates were lower. They therefore should not be interpreted as the likely monthly cost faced by someone purchasing a median-priced home in 2026.

Housing Supply & New Construction

The Census Bureau recorded 821 housing-unit building permits in Nassau County and 1,399 in Suffolk County during 2025, for a combined 2,220 permits. Building permits are a measure of authorized residential construction rather than completed housing units, but they provide an indication of the scale of new residential development.

Those permit totals are modest when viewed against an existing housing stock of more than 1.06 million units across the two counties. Long Island’s built-out communities, land costs, zoning, infrastructure requirements, and local development review processes can all influence the pace and location of new housing construction.

Understanding the Different Housing Measures

Nassau home prices are generally higher than Suffolk’s on a countywide basis, but neither county represents a single uniform housing market. Individual villages, hamlets, waterfront areas, school districts, and East End communities can differ dramatically from their county medians. Countywide statistics are most useful for broad comparisons rather than valuing a specific property.

Census home values and MLS sale prices measure different things. The Census estimate represents the value of the existing owner-occupied housing stock reported through survey data, while MLS median sale prices describe homes that actually changed hands during a specified period. A large difference between the two figures does not mean that either measure is incorrect.

Rental statistics require similar care. Census gross rent, HUD Fair Market Rent, voucher payment standards, and private-market asking rents are separate measures. HUD FMRs are federal program benchmarks and are not intended to represent the average advertised rent for every apartment available on Long Island.

Affordability calculations on this page are illustrative rather than measures of actual housing-cost burden. Actual purchasers have different down payments, mortgage rates, tax bills, insurance premiums, incomes, debts, and other expenses. The calculation is included to show how current prices and borrowing costs interact with countywide income levels.

Methodology

• Home-sale prices: August 2026 OneKey MLS single-family closed-sale medians for Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Monthly medians can change significantly and are not combined by averaging the two counties.
• Housing units: U.S. Census Bureau July 1, 2025 housing-unit estimates.
• Homeownership, values, rents, owner costs, and household income: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts estimates for 2020–2024.
• Building permits: U.S. Census Bureau 2025 building-permit figures.
• HUD Fair Market Rents: Official HUD Nassau-Suffolk, NY HUD Metro FMR Area schedules. FY2026 remains applicable through September 30, 2026 unless otherwise revised. HUD has published FY2027 figures scheduled to take effect October 1, 2026, subject to HUD’s reevaluation procedures.
• Mortgage rate: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey average 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 6.95% as of September 17, 2026. Actual borrower rates vary.
• Property-tax comparison: Tax Foundation 2026 county-level effective property-tax rates for owner-occupied housing. These rates are used only for the illustrative affordability calculation and do not estimate the tax bill of a particular property.
• Affordability calculations: Principal and interest are calculated with a standard 30-year mortgage amortization formula using 20% down and the stated mortgage rate. Insurance, maintenance, HOA charges, utilities, closing expenses, and other ownership costs are excluded.

Data Sources & Updates

Data reviewed: September 21, 2026.

The housing and real estate information on this page is compiled from official and public sources including U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for Nassau County, U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for Suffolk County, OneKey MLS market statistics, HUD Fair Market Rents, Freddie Mac mortgage-rate data, and Tax Foundation county property-tax data.

Housing statistics are released on different schedules. OneKey MLS market figures can change monthly, Freddie Mac mortgage rates change weekly, HUD Fair Market Rents generally change by federal fiscal year, and Census housing measures are updated on annual or multi-year schedules. For that reason, the newest figure in one section should not be assumed to represent the reference period used in another.

Long Island’s housing market continues to combine high homeownership, expensive housing, substantial property-tax costs, and strong demand with a comparatively slow-growing housing supply. Countywide statistics provide a useful view of those conditions, but individual communities and properties can differ significantly from the Nassau and Suffolk medians shown here.