A little more inventory - a few more sales

The real estate picture at the end of June 2014 is not very different from the real estate picture last year this time. We have a little more inventory and a few more sales.  In Nassau County at the end of June last year the inventory level was 7398 homes on the market. This year the number is 7634 - a 3% increase. 1127 homes were put in contract last June, this year the number is 1168 which is also about a 3.5% increase.  The absorption rate in Nassau County moved from 6.6 months’ worth of inventory to 6.5 months.  Suffolk County which has lagged Nassau in sales did a bit better. Last year at the end of June there were 10159 houses on the market. This year the number was 10874.  That's a 7% increase.  The number of homes sold moved from 1135 last year to 1368 this year.  That's a healthy 20% gain. But the absorption rate moved only from 9 months to just under 8 months. The market in Syosset has moved backwards a step. While inventory increased year over year from 110 to 126, sales have slowed so now there are 6 months’ worth of inventory on the market last year at the end of June there were only 4 months’ worth of inventory on the market. The real estate market on Long Island seems to be mirroring the general economic recovery. It's improving but slowly.  The question that remains is will inventory keep moving up or is June the month it peaks?  Stay tuned for the next report.