Business & Tech

Six Months After Sandy, Real Estate Still Thriving

North Shore escaped the worst of the devastation, became a safe haven for refugees.

Six months after Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of Long Island, realtors are saying the North Shore luckily escaped much of the long term pain.

"On the South Shore it was water damage, but on the North Shore, it was tree damage," said Long Island Village Realty's Marilyn Urso.

"We didn't see the devastation the South Shore saw," she said.

The "warzone" North Shore residents had to navigate after the storm amounted a simple inconvenience for most homeowners, she said. Though there were many who had to deal with damage from fallen trees on their homes and properties, it was thankfully nowhere near what those to the south endured.

Because of that, the North Shore became a sanctuary for displaced residents whose homes were all but destroyed in the storm.

"We had a huge demand for rentals after the storm," said Urso. "A lot of people came from the South Shore looking to rent on the North Shore, or people were displaced and wanted to stay in their school district," said Urso.

Realtors across Long Island stepped up to help their neighbors.

"It was really a call to action to work with these people in need. But the volume of people in need of a home has gone down. It did put a strain on a lot of the realtors to get these people homes."

Urso said the market has stayed strong and while homes in floodzones like Bayville or Huntington proved harder sells, buyers have educated themselves on what to look for in the post-Sandy era.

"Generators and electricity have become major selling points… We had a house that was already in contracts but the buyers backed out because the house was without power for over a week. It didn't matter that in 20 years they hadn't been out for more than a day or two."


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