For sale (or for rent)

Newsday reports:

In January, when retired psychologists Ben Schwartz, 77, and wife, Peppi, 76, put their Commack home of 44 years on the market for $649,000, it looked like a safe bet.

"Houses in Commack last year were at a premium," Peppi Schwartz recalls. "We thought it would sell very quickly."


Yet, through a dispiriting spring and summer, the house - a five-bedroom high-ranch with a duplex solarium and hot tub, a pool and separate professional office - didn't move despite several price cuts.

So last month, the Schwartzes chose an alternative that may be cropping up more: They decided to rent their house. They're still hoping to sell, at $499,000, but are now concentrating on marketing the house as a rental, at $3,500 a month.

This years' prices aren't last years.