Analyzing the effects that Hurricane Sandy had over listing prices, we found out that the impact wasn’t as strong as many had feared. On average, the asking prices of the houses remaining on the market dropped just 2%, in the coastal areas of New York and New Jersey states. Overall, the listing prices trend was similar to what it was (-1.5%) over the same period of time (3 months) before Sandy.
691 South 9th Street, Lindenhurst, Suffolk, $429,990 and 73 Cornwells Beach Road, Sands Point, Nassau, $7,500,000
However, asking prices and short-term property values might not be enough to assess Sandy’s impact on the North East’s housing market. “While values do not appear to have dropped, and this is coupled with ‘rushed’ sales ahead of the fiscal cliff, there are many properties downtown, <…>, that have apartments that buyers are unable to close due to the damage to the building. Some buyers are looking to get out of contracts. There definitely is an impact on days on market, closing times, and slower sales in many areas…“, said Jay Pegram, Founding Broker at Cave Johnson Real Estate New York.
New York’s 11692 zip code – highest change in listing prices after Sandy
Although, overall the listing price of homes in New York and New Jersey’ s coastal areas seems to have passed the Sandy test well, there are a number of zip codes where the reductions were higher.
The top 10 zip-codes with listing prices driven down by Sandy were all from New York State. The highest decrease was registered in zip code 11692, where the asking prices dropped by almost 9% after Sandy, compared to just -3% before the storm.
| Rank | Zip Code | City/Neighborhood | After Sandy | Before Sandy |
| 1 | 11692 | Arverne, Queens County | -8.76% | -3.35% |
| 2 | 10032 | Washington Heights, New York County | -7.42% | 0.25% |
| 3 | 11789 | Sound Beach, Suffolk County | -7.16% | 1.11% |
| 4 | 10451 | Mott Haven, Bronx County | -6.65% | -2.34% |
| 5 | 10986 | Tomkins Cove, Rockland County | -6.39% | -4.02% |
| 6 | 11777 | Port Jefferson, Suffolk County | -5.48% | -4.31% |
| 7 | 11719 | Brookhaven, Suffolk County | -5.42% | -2.02% |
| 8 | 11715 | Blue Point, Suffolk County | -5.38% | -1.01% |
| 9 | 11701 | Amityville, Suffolk County | -5.30% | -1.95% |
| 10 | 11105 | Astoria, Queens County | -5.25% | -5.90% |
In New Jersey, Sandy’s impact on listing prices was even less significant than in New York, the highest decrease (4.6%) being registered in Pleasantville, Atlantic.
| Rank | Zip Code | City | After Sandy | Before Sandy |
| 1 | 08232 | Pleasantville, Atlantic County | -4.63% | -3.67% |
| 2 | 07723 | Deal, Monmouth County | -4.09% | -1.88% |
| 3 | 07717 | Avon by the Sea, Monmouth County | -3.94% | -1.75% |
| 4 | 08087 | Tuckerton, Ocean County | -3.65% | -1.70% |
| 5 | 07758 | Port Monmouth, Monmouth County | -3.50% | -2.08% |
| 6 | 07720 | Bradley Beach, Monmouth County | -3.40% | -2.36% |
| 7 | 07077 | Sewaren, Middlesex County | -3.23% | -0.95% |
| 8 | 08092 | West Creek, Ocean County | -3.23% | -1.99% |
| 9 | 07760 | Rumson, Monmouth County | -3.21% | -1.89% |
| 10 | 08244 | Somers Point, Atlantic County | -2.94% | -1.36% |
Note: The study was based on over 20,000 homes listed for sale on Point2Homes.com in coastal areas of New York and New Jersey.
This study may just show inertia. The asking prices are left alone while people try to figure out what is going to happen to local zoning and building codes. If buyers are bargain hunting, lowering prices just means a lower base from which the buyers will want to get a discount.