FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2002 - IT WAS A GREAT YEAR TO BE IN REAL ESTATE
Members reach 17,000 – MLS reports 1,800 offices

January 2003 - West Babylon, NY - The Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, Inc. (MLSLI) released their December 2002 Activity report on January 17th. The number of transactions for Long Island, (Queens, Nassau and Suffolk) 2002 was 24,770, 14.6% higher than the 21,604 recorded in 2001. Closing Gross Sales volume for 2002 exceeded $8.53 billion, representing an increase of 45% over last year’s reported volume of $5.87 billion. More transactions and higher prices – sounds like a good year to be in the real estate business.

The average sales price for a home on Long Island in 2002 was $344,660, representing a 27% increase over the 2001 average of $271,719. NAR estimates the national median existing-home price for all of 2002 to be $158,200, up 7.0 percent from 2001. NAR has yet to release their final numbers for 2002, however, David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said they expected to shatter all-time records.

Queens County reported a year end average sales price of $280,979, 18% over the year before where MLS reported an average of $239,063. In Nassau, the average price was $429,911, up 34% over 2001’s figure of $321,098. Suffolk County also reported increases in the double digits with an average sales price of $306,284. This represents an increase of 24% over 2001’s figure of $247,388.

Inventory levels have seemed to level off. In December 2002, MLS reported 11,633 available properties as compared to December 2001 where the inventory level was reported to be 12,159.

# # #

Press Release Contact:
Tricia Chirco
Marketing & Communication Director
631-661-4800 Ext. 345

The Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, Inc., (MLSLI) a subsidiary of the Long Island Board of REALTORS®, Inc.(LIBOR) is a computerized network of more than 2700 participating real estate offices. For more information about the MLS, and Long Island real estate, visit our web site at www.mlsli.com.

The Long Island Board of REALTORS® is a non-profit trade association consisting of more than 23,500 professional Realtors. For more information about LIBOR, or to locate a Realtor in your area, visit our web site at: www.mlsli.com.