Buying a house in 2026? What to know, according to Long Island experts

Real estate professionals on Long Island are envisioning another competitive year for home buyers, but predict some more balance and expanded inventory in the housing market for 2026.

Local experts reflected on what 2025 was like for Long Island homebuyers, offered advice for first-timers in the new year and anticipated the market activity and trends ahead.

Hope for 'a more balanced market'

George Molina is a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman Real Estate, based in Farmingville. He works with more buyers than sellers, ranging in age from their 30s into late 40s.

This year, "I think it's shaping up to be a more balanced market," Molina said. "Homes are starting to sit a bit longer than what we've seen in recent years, and also COVID did have a big factor in the previous years. But I'm hearing experts say that we're expecting to see rates continue to trickle down, so it'll get buyers more purchasing power."

Yadlynd Cherubin is a real estate agent with Keller Williams Greater Nassau, based in Garden City, and is the leader of its Legacy Team. She foresees a "more balanced, but still competitive" market in the new year, with people who are looking to sell their Long Island homes and relocate.

"I think we're going to get a little more inventory," Cherubin said. "Right now, there are a lot of seller markets, like Florida, North Carolina and Texas. So people that are looking to relocate to those areas will help create a little more inventory for us, and I think the buyers are sellers are going to work well with each other."

Matthew Vasconcellos is a senior mortgage loan officer and team leader with Madison Mortgage in Garden City. Buyers will face challenges landing homes in the coming year, he said, but homeownership with fair prices will still be "attainable."

"When rates fall, property values typically will go up," Vasconcellos said. "So in 2026, we don't think the value of homes will go down, we think the fed fund rate will cut and interest rates will hopefully decline a little bit, which should then create affordability."

Timing is everything

While house hunting, Molina said buyers should "be ready for anything."

"Sometimes the opportunity will appear when you least expect it," Molina said. "It's a fast-paced market, and those who have taken time to prepare and have an initial plan usually are able to execute, regardless of the market that we're in."

Peter Elkowitz is the president and CEO of the nonprofit Long Island Housing Partnership (LIHP), based in Hauppauge. He advises that buyers stay optimistic and persistent during their home searches this year.

"I think that buyers will have to be patient," he said. "It's going to take some time. I think they're going to have to save a little bit more than they probably anticipated, so it might not happen in the first year or second year, but they shouldn't give up hope, because ultimately things will start hopefully turning around."

Tyler Revan, a licensed mortgage professional with Madison Mortgage, said buyers should remember that the purchase process "doesn't happen overnight." Minimizing the competition, when possible, is a key to success, he said.

"The best time to purchase is always before the summer or after the summer, if possible — especially on Long Island," Revan said. That's because many buyers will want to avoid moving during the school year, and plan their search around that, he said.

"Also, people are open to looking at houses when the weather is nice, versus right now, when it's freezing outside or when it's snowing," he said.

Leave your emotions at the door

"Buyers should be emotionally prepared to commit to the process," Revan said. "We're talking about negotiating on multiple properties, and sometimes getting outbid on several of them."

Due to the nature of the market, Molina also advises his clients to leave their emotions out of the process from the beginning and "take it day by day" while searching for their home, although he admits that might be easier said than done.

"Everything is unpredictable, and I tell them to celebrate when you actually close and exchange keys," he said.

Acting on emotions rather than strategy while house hunting can hold first-time home buyers back from seeing the bigger picture, Cherubin said, and so first-timers should look at the purchase as an investment above all else.

That way, "you'll see opportunities that you may not be able to see, if you're not looking in a strategic lens," she said. "If you're emotional, you're just going to be looking at walls, size, things like that. But if you're strategic, you're going to be looking at value, potential, growth and expansion."

Janet Hoda is a Department of Housing and Urban Development-certified counselor with LIHP. She develops action plans with her clients to follow throughout their home search, which, in some cases, may not be able to start as soon as they'd hoped.

"It is hard to deliver the message to first-time home buyers when they realize what's involved in being able to purchase a home on Long Island, and they realize that in this particular moment in time, they can't," Hoda said. "But we do encourage them and tell them that they're taking the first step, which is doing research and preparing for it."

Study up on your finances

When purchasing a home, there are three main factors lenders will look at, Revan said: Income, assets and credit.

"So if buyers are interested in prepping financially, they need to make sure those three factors are as strong as possible," he said.

Reinforcing that strong foundation is important because along the way, first-timers are often surprised by the total cost of homeownership, Hoda said.

"There are a lot of fees that come into owning a home, not just the down payment," she said. "And of course you want your clients to be prepared for those unexpected expenses: You don't want them to wipe out their assets, and you want them to have reserves."

Some down payment grants have the option to cover closing costs instead, said Stacey Krumholtz, acting director of counseling for LIHP. "But in this environment, when we're counseling, they need all of that money for a down payment in order for them to get mortgages," she said.

Finding grants, such as the Town of Brookhaven Down Payment Assistance Program (which provides up to $50,000 to eligible first-time buyers) can make a huge difference when covering these fees.

"I work with a lot of medical professionals, where the unions offer some kind of incentive for purchasing a home, so look for those things if you're considering buying," Cherubin said.

For homeowners looking to downsize in 2026, it's important for them to do the research first and make sure they are not giving up any equity, Elkowitz said.

"When people downsize, they think about what they paid for the house originally, and they see what they're getting for the house now, and there's a disconnect," he said.

Vasconcellos said buyers should first be aware of current market dynamics to ensure that it would make sense to downsize. He gave an example: "If you purchased a home in 2020, and you bought it for $700,000 and your interest rate is 2% hypothetically — if you want to buy a $500,000 home now at a current average rate of 5.8%, your payment could be the same for less space. That's one scenario of downsizing not making sense, because you're taking less space but you're paying the same."

Creativity and flexibility

Several real estate agents have said properties with a space to add an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) are becoming quite desirable to first-time buyers. Having a rentable space can open up lots of possibilities for homeowners, Elkowitz said.

"The ADU can be leased by the homeowner," he suggested. "They can get some income from the larger portion of the house, and they can still stay in their neighborhood in a brand-new ADU they're putting on the house. And they can lease out the house to their family. We have to be much more creative in how we look at using our homes these days."

Prospective buyers hoping for a drastic change in the market should instead be ready and able to adapt, Cherubin said.

"A lot of [buyers] are still hoping for some kind of frenzy that's going to happen," she said. "They're still waiting for a crash. I don't think there's going to be any kind of crash anytime soon, and I think buyers that are fully underwritten, well educated on what their monthly payments are and what they can afford, and buyers that are flexible are going to see the most success."

Flexibility in the radius of the home search and the size of the home — maybe even shifting a search to condos or co-ops — is worth considering for first-timers, she added.

"A lot of first-time home buyers want their forever home immediately," Cherubin said. "I think having a flexible mindset is key."

Incoming design trends

Chrissie Anthony Haim is an interior designer based in Locust Valley, and has worked with homeowners from New York City to Southold. Her clients are mostly young families that are second-time home buyers.

In new constructions and sometimes renovation projects, Haim has seen a shift from open-floor plans to closed-concept layouts in 2025.

"I think people are craving cozy, layered, textured personality," Haim said. Over the last 10 years, she said, open-floor layouts have reigned in Long Island homes: Lots of bright, airy spaces with clean lines, fewer walls and natural color palettes.

Now, "I think people are craving the defined spaces that a closed-floor plan brings," Haim said.

Additionally, Haim has seen a rise in demand for home offices over guest bedrooms.

"I think it's because on Long Island, those that work in the city still work a day or two from home," she said.

Haim's advice for first-time buyers with an itch to get creative in their new space is to "start small," maybe by revamping a powder room with some new wallpaper.

This year, she expects homeowners to have more fun with the design of their living spaces.

"I really see more cozy, lived-in spaces, more personality," Haim said. "People are looking to show more of who they are, and we could call that intentional clutter. People are OK with showing their personality more, and in an intentional way: Through paint, accessories and furniture."