As new national numbers show home prices dropping faster than ever, many on Long Island are wondering if the real estate slump can now be called a crisis.

A study shows housing prices declined across the U.S. by nearly 9 percent from a year earlier, a new record. Long Island Association chief economist Pearl Kamer says that drop is indeed being felt on the Island, but to a lesser extent. Kamer predicts the situation across the country will get worse before it gets better. ?We could be three years from the bottom,? she says.

Home seller Teddy Neofitos says he is feeling the real estate pinch. He and his family are moving out of their Hicksville home. He says he?s lost thousands of dollars in the process between the money he took off the asking price and the money he put into the home. Neofitos says the people buying his home definitely got it for a steal.