Where Long Island home prices rose fastest in first half of 2026

The pressure was on for Lia and Dimitri Lakios to find a house this year with the couple expecting their first child this fall. Since starting their search in early 2025, the couple had looked in areas on Suffolk’s North Shore from Huntington to Shoreham for a three-bedroom house priced up to $625,000.

But they found themselves losing out repeatedly, and needed to up their budget to $730,000

"It felt like every door that we walked through, we were competing," said Dimitri Lakios, 29, who grew up in Mount Sinai.

In July, they found a four-bedroom Colonial in Miller Place with a big backyard that had been sitting on the market for about a month. The owner had recently cut the asking price to $725,000 and, after some haggling, the couple landed the house for $720,000.

"We've been doing the right thing, saving money. We both work full-time jobs. It just felt like we were constantly getting beat out," said Lia Lakios, 28. "And having the baby on the way was definitely a little bit scary, not knowing if we would have a house or not by the time she was here, but it all worked out."

The couple was searching in one of the five Long Island real estate markets where prices grew fastest in the first half of this year among areas with at least 50 sales. In each, the median sale price rose at least 15% compared with the January-to-June period last year. 

Some of communities where prices rose fastest were already million-dollar markets, including Manhasset.

Real estate agents who spoke with Newsday said low inventory and high demand in those areas helped drive the price increases — though they noted some of the jump can be attributed to a shift in the mix of homes that sold toward the luxury end of the market, particularly in Manhasset.

However, agents reported changes in the market this fall. The seasonal dip in sales during the colder months has coincided with a surge in mortgage rates.

Attractive houses "are still achieving multiple offers in the first week or two on the market, but each house is getting fewer offers," said Ann Hance, an associate broker at Compass in Manhasset.

The average 30-year fixed rate was 7.18% for the week ending Nov. 5. That's up nearly a full percentage point compared with the average rate at this time last year, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

Higher mortgage rates often slow price appreciation, as buyers lose purchasing power.

But this year's rate environment could exacerbate Long Island's already low inventory, pushing prices higher, said real estate analyst and appraiser Jonathan Miller. He provided Newsday with data on single-family home prices in 151 communities on Long Island, excluding the East End.

"It makes it worse because the higher the rates go, the stronger the reason for a homeowner to stay out of the market," he said.

About 49% of outstanding residential mortgages in the U.S. had a rate of 4% or less, as of the second quarter of this year, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, but that percentage has declined from about 65% in early 2022.

In some parts of the country, price reductions have become more common. But Nassau and Suffolk counties have bucked that trend. The percentage of listings in September with price reductions was 11% in Nassau and 10% in Suffolk, according to Realtor.com data.

The national rate was about 21%.

That gives sellers "a lot of the power in this market," said Hannah Jones, a senior economist at Realtor.com. "Buyers are still facing really tough circumstances."

These are the five markets, with at least 50 sales, where prices rose fastest from January to June, compared with the same six-month stretch in 2025 on Long Island, excluding the East End. 

 Manhasset

Median price first half of 2026: $2.5 million

Median price first half of 2025: $1.83 million

Change: 37%

One of Long Island's most expensive areas also had the fastest price appreciation during the first half of this year.

Hance, the Compass associate broker, attributed the spike to a flurry of luxury sales.

"The high end was active in the first half of this year, but now is stalled," Hance said.

The data include sales of homes with Manhasset postal addresses, including properties in the villages of Munsey Park, Plandome and Plandome Heights, as well as in Flower Hill and North Hills.

At least five homes sold for more than $5 million during the first half, according to OneKey MLS data.

But for house hunters in the $2.5 million-range, where many Manhasset buyers peg their search, there aren't enough properties, Hance said. When she recently had a listing for a Manhasset house priced just under $2.2 million, it received six offers.

Hance said buyers often include families moving from Manhattan and people who grew up in the area seeking to move closer to family — and take advantage of the hamlet's less than 35-minute express trains to Manhattan.

"The people we're seeing coming into town, they want to walk to the train," she said.

Manhasset buyers are often determined to buy in the area, said Douglas Elliman Real Estate agent Helene Vlachos, and cite highly ranked schools and its bustling restaurants and shops.

Vlachos said well-heeled buyers have been bringing large amounts of cash to deals to avoid today's interest rates.

"That really hasn't affected our market as much as it might affect other areas because we have a lot of buyers in a higher cash position," she said.

Miller Place

Median price first half of 2026: $800,000

Median price first half of 2025: $660,000

Change: 21.2%

Farther east, Miller Place is attracting older and more affluent buyers than was typical just a few years ago, said agent Nicholas Colonna, of Aliano Real Estate.

That mirrors a national trend as the median first-time homebuyer is now 40 years old, up from 30 in 2010, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Along with rising home prices, the area has recently attracted major retailers with this year's opening of Trader Joe's and plans for a Whole Foods Market in neighboring Mount Sinai

Unlike some of the the million-dollar hotspots, mortgage rates are affecting demand in Miller Place, Colonna said.

"Multiple offer situations aren't as common," he said. "As rates have crested past 7%, I am seeing less buyer activity."

Miller Place is divided by Route 25A, with historic homes clustered north of the thoroughfare and newer developments to the south, said Sherry Acker, an agent at Serhant, who grew up in Miller Place.

While some longtime homeowners are reluctant to move, major lifestyle changes often create new buyers and sellers.

"No matter what the rates are, there's still always going to be the 4 Ds — death, divorce, diamonds and diapers," she said.

That was the case for the Lakios family, who worked with Acker to close on their house in September. But Lia Lakios, a nurse, said the couple was only able to save by living with her parents for the past three years.

"I definitely don't think we would have been able to buy a house if we were paying rent," she said. 

Dix Hills

Median price first half of 2026: $1.41 million

Median price first half of 2025: $1.2 million

Change: 17.7%

Dix Hills draws buyers looking for more land, bigger homes and somewhat lower taxes than Nassau's North Shore communities, said Elena Galluzzo, an agent at Compass.

Steady appreciation has priced out many first-time buyers, and families often move into the area when making a step-up purchase from a smaller home, she said.

Sales have slowed recently as is typical for the colder months, but sellers are still often receiving close to or more than their asking prices, Galluzzo said.

"It's still a seller's market, but the prices have softened since the rates went up," she said. "It's not our season. School has started already, so many people will wait for spring."

Galluzzo recommends buyers keep searching over the winter when many house hunters drop out of the market.

Victor Stabile, a Douglas Elliman Real Estate agent who recently listed a house in Dix Hills, said he's seen foot traffic at open houses decline this fall compared to the spring.

But he said sellers are in a far better position on Long Island than in Sun Belt markets, such as Austin, Texas, and Punta Gorda, Florida, where prices have fallen more than 15% from their post-COVID peaks.

"If you're a seller, you're still king here if it's priced correctly," he said.

Port Washington

Median price first half of 2026: $1.4 million

Median price first half of 2025: $1.2 million

Change: 16.7%

Buyers are drawn to Port Washington for its schools, commutes to Manhattan in under 40 minutes and a strong sense of community, which plays out across festivals, such as its annual HarborFest, said real estate agent Andrew Wu, of eXp Realty.

He said the Port Washington market was particularly active in the spring, when he worked with several buyers who lost out in bidding wars on homes priced around $1.3 million that fetched offers several hundred thousands above the asking price.

"It was just a fervor of desperate buyers and limited supply," Wu said.

Kevin Chen, one of Wu's clients, experienced that firsthand as he lost out on three homes before purchasing a four-bedroom house in Port Washington in May.

Chen and his wife, who moved from Brooklyn, liked the schools in Port Washington and saw it as a good value compared with more expensive areas nearby. It also kept his door-to-door commute to Manhattan, where he works in finance, to one hour and 15 minutes.

But as they toured open houses, Chen noticed other couples hunting for houses seemed older and assumed they had more money to spend then he and his wife, who were buying their first home.

"Every single house would be listed Saturday and they would be a pending sale by Monday," he said. "So you also felt really pressured to make a decision."

The couple landed a house with an offer of nearly $1.37 million, which was about $175,000 above the asking price and near the top of their budget. Chen had hoped to find a recently renovated house for that price, but he still expects to have to invest in renovations. 

"We knew going in it was going to be an aggressive market," Chen said. "We didn't realize how aggressive."

Kings Park

Median price first half of 2026: $780,000

Median price first half of 2025: $677,500

Change: 15.1%

Longtime Kings Park real estate broker George McKnight said the area has about half as many homes on the market as he would expect this time of year, as homeowners opt to stay in place.

Families are drawn to area parks, including Sunken Meadow State Park and Nissequogue River State Park, where there are opportunities for fishing, boating and hiking, he said.

But many homeowners are choosing to expand their homes rather than buying bigger, said McKnight, who owns McKnight Realtors.

"People aren't letting go of those low rates," he said. "They're keeping the rate and doing a renovation or a remodel."

Sellers have little motivation to move and limited options to stay nearby without a significant increase in their monthly mortgage payment, said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin's chief economist.

"Sellers, even though their homes have gone up in value, if they wanted to buy again in the same neighborhood, it would be very expensive for them to do that," she said.

Kings Park has begun to draw more buyers who have been priced out of Commack and Smithtown, where competition has ratcheted up, said Brendan Duffy, an agent at Lux Homes Long Island.

Duffy advises buyers to move quickly once an offer is accepted, including performing an inspection and working with an attorney to get contracts signed.

"The last thing you want in this market is to get an accepted offer and you drag your feet, you don't get it into contract and someone else's offer gets accepted," he said. "That's the nightmare scenario."