Each quarter, the Langdon & Edison team puts together a ground-level read on multifamily market conditions across Long Island, drawing on what we are seeing directly across the residential portfolio we manage in Nassau and Suffolk counties alongside broader market data. This is our current view.
The Summary
Long Island multifamily remains one of the tightest rental markets in the region. Vacancy across Nassau and Suffolk is low by any historical standard, effective rents have continued to move higher, and the supply pipeline, constrained by the same zoning dynamics we cover elsewhere in this issue, shows no sign of delivering the kind of new inventory that would meaningfully change the occupancy picture in the near term.
The story on Long Island is not complex: demand is strong, supply is very limited, and that imbalance is not going to resolve itself quickly. Owners of well-located, well-maintained product are in a strong position. The challenge is managing operating costs in an environment where expenses are rising faster than most owners anticipated.
Nassau County
Nassau remains the tighter of the two counties on a per-unit basis. Communities along the LIRR’s Hempstead Branch and Port Washington Branch, including Great Neck, Manhasset, Mineola, Garden City, and Rockville Centre, continue to see strong rental demand from commuters, professionals, and households transitioning out of New York City in search of more space at relatively lower cost.
Vacancy in stabilized Nassau multifamily product has held in the low-to-mid single digits. Asking rents for two-bedroom units in the better Nassau submarkets are running in the $2,800 to $3,400 range depending on location, condition, and amenities. Concessions are largely nonexistent for product in good condition and well-managed.
The communities showing the most rental demand activity are those with walkable downtowns close to LIRR service. Renters on Long Island, particularly younger ones, are placing increasing value on the ability to get to the city without a car.
Suffolk County
Suffolk presents a more varied picture. The western Suffolk submarkets, including Babylon, Bay Shore, Islip, and Patchogue, are performing well and have benefited from relative affordability compared to Nassau. Patchogue in particular has seen a meaningful increase in demand as its downtown has developed, with rental rates moving up steadily over the past several years.
Central and eastern Suffolk is more price-sensitive. Huntington and Commack are steady performers. Further east, demand softens and the renter pool skews toward affordability-constrained households, which creates a different operating environment with higher tenant turnover, more maintenance intensity, and closer exposure to any softening in the local job market.
The North Shore communities in western Suffolk, including Port Jefferson, Stony Brook, and Smithtown, benefit from university-area demand that provides a baseline of rental activity, though this market has its own seasonal dynamics that owners need to manage.
Where We See Risk
The primary risk we are tracking on Long Island is the same one affecting multifamily nationally, just with a local flavor: operating cost inflation.
Property insurance premiums on Long Island have increased sharply over the past 18 to 24 months, driven in part by reinsurance market dynamics and Long Island’s coastal exposure profile. Several insurers have pulled back or re-priced Long Island risk meaningfully, and owners who have not shopped their coverage recently are likely paying more than they need to, or are underinsured relative to current replacement costs.
Property taxes remain a significant line item. Nassau County’s assessment process has been in the courts for years, and tax certiorari activity is ongoing. Owners who are not actively managing their assessments through grievance filings are likely leaving money on the table.
Labor costs for maintenance and repairs, particularly licensed trades, have continued to rise across Long Island, and response time from qualified vendors has stretched out in many markets. Building a reliable vendor network and maintaining it is a genuine competitive advantage for property managers operating here.
What We Are Watching in the Coming Months
Two things: how the state-level housing mandate story develops and whether any meaningful new supply gets entitled in the near-term pipeline, and how Long Island’s job market holds up as some of the larger employers on the island navigate broader economic uncertainty.
Our current baseline view is that the Long Island multifamily market remains healthy through the balance of the year. The supply constraint is structural, not cyclical, and that provides a durable floor under occupancy and rents for owners of quality product. The operators who will outperform are those focused on expense management and tenant retention. The revenue side of the equation is largely working in everyone’s favor right now.
