A jump in sales and a dip in inventory are providing a ray of hope for a depressed housing market.
The bad news is that home prices are still dropping and many buyers remain on the sidelines.
There were 1,740 homes under contract for sale in Nassau and Suffolk counties last month, a 26 percent increase over [...]

As insulated as Long Island real estate has been through past recessions, experts say the recent collapse of financial firms on Wall Street will eventually result in lower prices and higher vacancies in commercial properties here.
The departure of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch put the fate of more than 3 million square feet [...]