Quick moving zip codes

Great Neck, Woodmere homes singled out as big sellers

Staff Report

Issue of May 8, 2009 / 14 Iyar 5769

The Forbes Luxury Housing Index lists Great Neck and Woodmere among the top five neighborhoods on their list of "luxury movers," signifying that homes in those areas are selling more quickly than in other places.

An April 22 report on Forbes.com said the housing index tracks the 500 most expensive zip codes in the country using real estate statistics provided by Altos Research. The others in the top five are Redwood City, Calif. (listed as number one), Coral Gables, FL and Palo Alto, Calif.

While the complete index currently averages 115 days on the market, houses in the 10 fastest-selling zip codes sell in just 66 days, on average. Even though the median prices for homes in these luxury areas are relatively high, prices are dropping as non-motivated sellers pull their homes off the market, leaving only sellers eager to negotiate with buyers who have fewer choices.

"It has to do with a lot of the lower quality homes coming off the market," said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, a Manhattan-based appraisal firm. "In a high-priced market like Great Neck, the lower days on market just shows the willingness of people to pull things off the market rather than take a price cut."

In places like Great Neck, with a median price of around $1 million, sellers should expect to negotiate downward this selling season. Further cuts would bring prices within range of new federal loan limits, a stimulus for sales, Miller explained.

"With a 20 percent down payment, a $915,000 home fits within the $729,750 Federal Housing Administration loan limit," he said. "The disparity between availability of conventional financing and jumbo financing will affect a lot of these markets."