SAMANTHA BRIX PHOTO | Real estate agent Joanne Klein shows Bruce and Ramona Levey a ranch in Rocky Point. The Leveys are part of a growing number of of renters who were one-time homeowners and are now in the market to own again.

Bruce and Ramona Levey lived for five years with their Shih Tzu, Lucia, in a 2-story Colonial they owned in East Islip.

But the homeowners decided to start renting in Coram since they didn’t know where they wanted to live permanently.

“We said let’s keep our money, take our time and decide,” said Bruce, 55, a pharmaceutical sales representative.

So the couple moved to the Avalon Pines Apartments in smaller living quarters with 2 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms, and were happy there until the beginning of this year.

Ms. Levey, 44, longed for her own backyard again and the couple’s rent was scheduled to increase by $500. They looked around and saw that prices of homes were much more affordable than a few years back, so they decided they’d once again look into owning their own home.

“It’s a great time to buy,” Mr. Levey said. “The prices are so good right now. How do you not?”

The Leveys are part of a growing number of renters who were homeowners before the housing market crashed in 2007, and are back on the hunt to own a home, according to local real estate agents.

Dorothy Amato, a licensed sales agent at Coach Realtors in Mount Sinai, said there’s been a steady increase of people who have gone from homeowner to renter, and now back to owner.

“They waited for the market to drop,” she said. “And a lot of our buyers are hanging in there, waiting to see if the market goes down any more.”

The Leveys’ broker, Joanne Klein of Bel Breeze Real Estate in Miller Place, said some local house prices have dropped by as much as $100,000 from this time last year.

“They’re looking at the prices going, ‘Wow, we can be in a nicer and bigger house than what we could have afforded a couple of years ago,” Ms. Klein said of the Leveys.

She said prices are looking more attractive locally, though there has been a slight uptick in housing prices nationally. Home prices rose in 13 major cities in the country for the first time in eight months, according to an April report issued by the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index.

But Ms. Klein insists home prices in SunLand have come down and sales have picked up. She partly credits recent interest rates that are much lower than usual to the boost in home sales.

“I’ve never seen rates so low,” she said.

And Ms. Klein said showing homes to couples who have previously owned can be an easier task.

“They know what they want in a home,” Ms. Klein said. “They know when they walk in the door whether they like something right away and they know the reasons why.”

The Leveys are in the market for a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom ranch with central air and a smaller backyard in the interest of getting more indoor living space, and to cut down on the amount of lawn-mowing Mr. Levey will have to do.

“We’re looking for low maintenance,” he said. “Something that’s Bruce-proof.”

Ms. Klein led the couple on Tuesday into a cape in Rocky Point asking $279,900 with three bedrooms and one bathroom on a 100-by-100-foot plot of land. A white fence lines the perimeter of a raised front porch, and a huge deck takes over most of the backyard.

The Leveys found the cape charming, but they already have their eye on a ranch in Port Jefferson Station that has more living space.

“See? They know what they want,” Ms. Klein said. “By their second time around, they really zero in on exactly what they want.”

[email protected]

RELATED ARTICLES:

Real Estate: First-time homebuyer jitters

Real Estate: Finding ways to use solar and save bucks

Real Estate Blog: Statistics show an improving market