Real LI

House hunters last year didn’t have to earn as much to qualify for a loan to buy a median priced home on Long Island. They just had to make about $147,004, according to the The Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the Washington, D.C.-based National Housing Conference.

But that’s 4.6 percent down from the $154,155 in household income required in 2006, according to this month’s “Paycheck to Paycheck” report.

Because mortgage interest rates went down over last year, it costs less to buy on credit.

Stablizing the Long Island economy is mostly about maintaining a strong workforce. So said Matthew Crosson, president of the Long Island Association, to members of the Long Island Builders Institute yesterday morning in Hauppauge.

Crosson says the declining population of Long Island -- and he had the stats to back up his claim -- means there will be even greater demand for affordable housing over the next decade. The Long Island population, Crosson said, is declining about five times faster than the rest of the United States.

While young people (ages 25-44) are leaving in waves, baby-boomers are starting their retirement process. Studies by the American Community Survey say more aging baby-boomers and more immigrant families will be looking for housing on Long Island in upcoming years. But that housing needs to be more affordable. Revitalizing run-down urban areas is crucial to the process, he said.

"The big thing is the baby-boomer retirement process," Crosson said. "This process is already starting, and we're seeing that fewer and fewer people are there to replace them in the workforce.The people are just not there."

A declining workforce means a declining economy, he told builders. Without workers filling good-paying jobs, who buys the houses? Who pumps money into the economy?

With affordable housing, preferably near transportation and downtown businesses, there is a chance for a future workforce. And if it does materialize, it will need affordable recreation, cultural improvements and ways to keep the educated young person on Long Island.

Crosson said that in previous periods of economic downturn, the theory has always been that Long Island will rebound -- that it will continue as it always has.

This time, the numbers say: "That's not true," Crosson said.

Students from Huntington and Hauppauge high schools will join forces with Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk County tomorrow to start construction on an East Patchogue home for a single mother and her two sets of twin sons.

Work on exterior walls is expected to begin by 9 a.m., says Les Scheinfeld, Habitat's associate director for development. Along with the labor donated by the high school students, the home is being sponsored by Astoria Federal Savings Bank and Habitat.

The recipient will be Denise Nicotri, a single mother with two sets of twin boys. Josh and Jonathan, 18, and Jared and Jordan, 13. “I feel truly blessed to have this opportunity," Nicotri, a shop manager for Cancos Tile
, says. "We have been residing with my parents in Holbrook for many years. Without Habitat and the sponsors and many volunteers, this would not be possible. "

Habitat for Humanity has affiliates in more than 2,250 communities nationwide, including the Suffolk branch, and more than 100 nations. The nonprofit has built more than 250,000 homes to partner families with no-profit, zero-interest mortgages.

Long Island housing advocate Marge Rogatz has been tapped to sit on the board of directors of the State of New York Mortgage Agency.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli picked Rogatz, longtime president and chief executive officer of Community Advocates, to be his representative on the board.

It costs a bundle to live on Long Island, and housing price drops caused by the subprime collapse haven’t changed that.

Out of 201 metro areas, Nassau-Suffolk has the 15th most expensive home ownership market, with median home prices hovering at $450,000, according to The Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the Washington, D.C.-based National Housing Conference.

In the rental market, Long Island is the seventh most expensive out of 210 metro regions, according to the center's study. It based its research on rent for two-bedroom apartments and found that they went for $1,356 on Long Island.

New York City is the seventh most expensive in terms of home ownership, with the median price at $525,000, the data showed. But it actually did better than Long Island in the rent rankings -- No. 16 -- with a two-bedroom apartment going for $1,189, the study found.

The research was done on 2007 housing prices from the third quarter, just when the subprime mortage market collapsed. San Francisco topped both lists, showing a median home price of $770,000 and two-bedroom rental at $1,551.

Another study from the center, Paycheck to Paycheck, took the five highest-growth occupations projected for 2006-2016 and looked at the number of metro area markets that were affordable for salaries earned in those occupations.

For example, food preparation workers were priced out of home ownership and two-bedroom rentals in all the markets; they could afford one-bedrooms in only a few metro areas.

On the other end of the scale, nurses could rent without problems in all the markets on the list but owning a home was affordable in about half the areas, the study said.

Hamptons.com reports on the latest discussion over affordable housing at what will become a luxury condo complex at the former Bulova watch factory in Sag Harbor.

The owner of a Hamptons Bay cape code is in trouble with the town again for renting out her basement, this time to three tenants. Click here to find out what will happen to her this time. In the meantime, Wilson Milord -- the landlord who continued to rent out a West Babylon house after the town tried to shut the place down (three tenants would later die of carbon monoxide poisoning) -- is in trouble over another property in Brentwood with code violations.Get the latest on that story here.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer outlined in his State of the State address today several housing proposals to keep younger New Yorkers from moving out-of-state.

Calling it "the biggest housing initiative in a generation," the governor proposed a $400 million Housing Opportunity Fund to build homes that teachers and police officers can afford. Some of the money would also go to developing housing for people with disabilities and special needs that enables them to live independently.

He is also calling for legislation to enhance anti-mortgage fraud laws and to amend foreclosure law to protect homeowners. For more information about Spitzer's mortgage initiatives, check out the story in Tuesday's Newsday.

The bad rap on Long Island is that there’s no affordable housing. Not true.

Think condo and two things may come to mind -- neighbors on the other side of the wall and restrictions set by homeowner associations.

But a three-bedroom condo on the market in Middle Island is a detached two-floor home with its own grounds, where one can probably put up a statue without condo cops coming around.

Audrey Brandt, an agent at Century 21 Rustic Realty in Coram, said some condo developments limit weight of pets allowed, bar statues in the front yard and allow only “cookie cutter” looks, but Strathmore on the Green is not one of them.

“It’s not the land of no,” she said.

Brandt said the house could be perfect for a golfer. The Spring Lake Golf Club is about a 20-minute walk away, but of course, there might be golfers addicted to the sport. "You cut through someone's back yard," she joked, "it would be even faster."

The house, which has a large back deck and doesn’t look its 17 years, is listed at $279,900. The monthly maintenance is $250.

Senior citizens on fixed and low incomes will have their chance at renting in the new Pinehurst apartment complex in East Patchogue, thanks to a lottery sponsored by the Community Development Corp. of Long Island and Conifer Realty.

-- GARY DYMSKI

The Long Island Housing Partnership and the town of Southampton are looking for 14 winning names today, and the prize for each lottery winner is a new condominium in the Courtyards at Southampton.

Developed by Majors Path Associates LLC, the condo units are designed for workforce housing. Some 111 names are entered in the drawing. Of the 50 units at the complex, 14 will go to lottery winners.

The two- and three-bedroom units range in price from about $203,000 to $341,000. Depending on income level, each lottery winner can qualify for a subsidy that will reduce the cost from between about $143,000 to $316,000. To qualify for the subsidies, family income must be between $49,000 and $93,000. Family size also is involved in the equation, and town residents have preferred eligibility status.

“This is a unique, first-of-its-kind, East End development that contains affordable homes within a condominium complex,” said Peter Elkowitz, president and CEO of the L.I. Housing Partnership.

Southampton Town Supervisor Patrick Heaney said he was pleased at the cooperation between the town and the LIHP. “Creative public/private partnerships like these are the best way to put our valued working families into safe, affordable homes in the communities where they live and work,” he said.

The LIHP, formed in 1988, is a nonprofit geared toward providing affordable housing. More information is at lihp.org.

-- GARY DYMSKI

Long Island was south of San Francisco, north of New York City and right above a California town called El Centro.

“What is this?” you might ask.

It’s the "housing opportunity index” of homes sold -- basically a barometer of affordability -- compiled by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo. The index takes into account the area’s median incomes, median home price and mortgage rates, then calculates what percentage of the population can afford the housing.

Nationwide in the third quarter of the year, housing became slightly more affordable compared with a year ago. But due to mortgage rates that went from 6.44 percent in the second quarter to 6.73 percent in the third quarter, affordability dropped from 43.1 percent to 42 percent in the third quarter.

Out of 215 communities, Nassau and Suffolk tied with Fresno, CA., at No. 203, way down on the affordability scale for the third quarter. With the median sale price of a home at $450,000 and the median family income at $93,800, only 9.5 percent of homes were considered affordable.

Long Island, becoming more urban and less of a bedroom community, was found way below Dallas (87), Chicago (125), Philadelphia (129) and other metro regions.

New York City metro area came in at 209; the median sales prices of homes was $525,000 and the median family income was $59,500, making only 7.1 percent of homes affordable.

But fear not, New York City lovers – Los Angeles held onto its three-year record of being the most unaffordable, major housing market. It was second from the bottom on the entire list. The family median income there was $61,700 and the median sale price was $515,000, making only 3.7 percent of homes sold affordable.

The most affordable community was Kokomo, IN., where 90.5 percent of homes were within reach of families with median income of $59,700. The median sale prices there was $97,000.

Napa, CA., hit bottom. The median family income was $75,800 and the median sales price was $585,00. Only 3.3 percent of the housing was considered affordable.

That's what Natalie Gaebelein, 24, of Hampton Bays says is her fate is she continues to try to make it on Long Island. Unless there is affordable housing. Gaebelein, head of a group calling itself Stay on Long Island, meets tomorrow at Suffolk Community College. Read more about the group and affordable housing initiatives being floated in the Suffolk County Legislature here.

In the meantime, Newsday columnist Lawrence Levy writes about how the cost of unaffordable housing is lethal, as witnessed in the recent fatal fire at an illegal apartment in West Babylon. Read his column today here.

The East Hampton Star reports that the federal government has set aside money to build apartments for low-income seniors on Amagansett church property. Read all about it here.

The bad rap on Long Island is that there’s no affordable housing. Not true.

How much would you charge for an anti-witch chimney? Maybe just as interesting is the price of this 1851 Freeport house: $299,000.

From photos and what RE/MAX Hearthstone agent Steven Kozlowski says, the two-bedroom Cape on quiet Bedell Street north of Atlantic Avenue even has charm and history with the price.

Back in really superstitious times, folks believed witches could get into a house by flying down chimneys. So some families built the chimneys slightly bent – after all, everyone in the world knows that a witch can't fly down a curve.

It’s a witch tale that Bellmore-based Kozlowski likes to tell agents and house hunters: “I don’t want anybody to think there’s something wrong with the chimney.”

The Community Development Corp of Long Island is celebrating the opening of its 22-home Cottages at Mattituck tomorrow.

The development is for working families and individuals who live or work in the Town of Southold. The homes sold for $175,900 to first-time homebuyers making less than 80 percent of the median income and for $218,400 to those making less than the median income.

The development will always be an affordable housing community. Future resale prices will be regulated by the Town of Southold and buyers will come from a waiting list.

"Many of these working families are achieving the dream of homeownership in the same town in which they were born and raised," said Marianne Garvin, president of the Community Development Corporation of Long Island.

The economist's numbers were grim but at least the crowd was friendly at the annual Real Estate Next housing conference in Uniondale Thursday.

One of Long Island's most prominent jobs statisticians was preaching a strong message to the crowd at the Long Island Marriott. But she was preaching to the choir about the domino effect of the lack of affordable housing.

Pearl Kamer, the chief economist for the Long Island Association, told the crowd that without enough affordable housing, Long Island will continue to lose young people in droves, the very people needed to fill the many highly skilled jobs that are vacant because of a shortage of employees.

Quoting Census data, Kamer said that between 2000 and 2006, the number Long Islanders between the ages of 25 and 44 declined by 15 percent, or 122,477 people.

"Many are college graduates with skills we need to grow our economy," she said. "If employers can't find the workers they need to fill available jobs, employment will stagnate and companies will move away."

Job growth is so stagnate right now, she said, that the economy is generating only about 5,000 new jobs annually, compared with 30,000 a year in the later part of the 1990s. And the lack of affordable housing only makes the skills gap worse, she said.

Kamer, who advocates high-density housing, says the Island needs about 127,000 affordable housing units over the next 10 years.

Just how friendly was the crowd? Well, when a panelist decried red tape as one of the biggest obstacles that developers face, the audience broke out into applause.

-- CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN