Robin Amato, also of Petrey Real Estate, said that the interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is 4.38 percent, and 3.38 percent for 15 years. “Interest rates are still pretty low, but they’re rising,” she said. “There was a huge sales dip after the storm — there was literally nothing sold in the first few months after the storm. A year after the storm is when we started to notice an uptick. I think once we get through this summer, and through the fall without a storm, the values will come back.”

Local agents said that many homeowners decided to rebuild and stay in town. Dennis Weinberg said that Long Beach is transitioning from a buyer’s to a seller’s market. The rental market remains strong as well, and Weinberg also noted the influx of employees of the Army Corps of Engineers, NY Rising and other agencies who are living in Long Beach.

“Right now we see trends starting to go toward a seller’s market because the inventory is getting less and less, and one of the reasons is that when the storm hit here, there were tons of properties that were for sale or for rent,” Dennis Weinberg said. “It’s moving toward a seller’s market when inventory decreases because people aren’t looking to move — many are elevating and are resolved to stay. And the homes here are going to go for a greater price, because now most are going to be renovated.”

Real estate challenges after the storm

With many Long Beach residents remaining displaced nearly a year and a half after Hurricane Sandy, some say that the community has not fully rebounded. At a recent forum of the Beach to Bay Central Council of Civic Associations to discuss the fate of the Long Beach Medical Center, Tom Tripodi urged residents to keep pressure on state lawmakers to reopen the facility.

Potential homebuyers, he said, are drawn to Long Beach not only for its beach lifestyle and culture, but also for its schools, local emergency services and hospital.