Sunday, November 15, 2026
Wantagh real estate agent Michael Sherack said that home prices across Long Island are on the rise – and Wantagh-Seaford is no different.
Sherack, 47, sells homes within 60 neighborhoods across Long Island. A Seaford resident since 2008, Sherack said properties in Wantagh are selling for more money than in the past as the number of available houses has dropped. “Bidding wars” frequently ensue, he said.
“There seems to be an insane amount of demand for houses on Long Island and there’s not enough inventory to meet it, and Wantagh and Seaford are really no different,” said Sherack. As an agent, “it can be frustrating sometimes, but rewarding to a certain degree, when you find a buyer their perfect home.”
A nearly $2.5 million home sale set to be finalized this week in South Merrick reflects wider trends seen across the island. Real estate prices have spiked on Long Island since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. An influx of buyers seeking suburban homes has been met with limited inventory, Sherack said.
One key MLS data point gathered by Sherack showed that in January this year, the median sales price of Wantagh homes was $615,000, a rise of 11.2 percent from the prior year, when it was about $553,000.
Neighboring Seaford’s median sales price was reported at $599,000 the same month. That’s an increase of roughly 12 percent since last year alone. And the median home price on Long Island stands at $600,000 — just a year ago, it was $550,000, according to Realtor.com.
As of late February, Sherack said that he had only 28 houses in his inventory to sell in Wantagh. In Seaford, the market is even tighter: there were only 19 houses up for sale.
Sherack said he’s watched buyers take part in bidding wars and has seen as many as 20 buyers competing for a single home. “There’s a lot of competition for all the houses in the area and there are a lot of people on the move,” said Sherack. “The average home prices are consistently rising, and some buyers won’t be able to go that high.”
Buyers are taking out more expensive loans than in years past, he added. Further, the average interest rate is projected to be 4 percent by the end of 2022. It was roughly 3.45 percent in late January.
Although Sherack stated that rising prices may sway buyers away from certain houses, sellers are in favorable positions to put their houses on the market. As housing prices go higher, Sherack said it’s a “good time” for agents.
Other local real estate agents are feeling the pressure of matching homebuyers with houses in a limited market. Signature Premier Properties real estate agent, Giulio Ferrante, 47, said that working in real estate is very frustrating for him.
“It’s discouraging for buyers right now because there are not many homes on the market,” Ferrante said, who sells homes in Wantagh, Seaford and the rest of Long Island. “I feel sad for the buyers looking for their dream home.”
Ferrante added that “nine times out of ten,” a buyer will be outbid for a house and thus lose the home they wanted. “People want to move away from the city life,” said Ferrante. “They’re migrating in, but sellers aren’t interested in selling.”
Real estate agent Tatyana Agron, who works with VI Properties, a Hewlett-based real estate group that is a subsidiary of Compass Inc., said: “Long Island has never experienced this before.”
Agron said she believes the influx is because people are moving to Long Island from urban areas, seeking more space and some reduced Covid-19 restrictions.
The real estate market is most active between February and July, Agron said – but this year is different. “They’re definitely on the rise,” Agron said of home prices. “I don’t think buyers, sellers or brokers expected this.”
