Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There are a lot of houses for sale because it's a HUGE area...a better thing to look at is how many houses are just lingering on the market for a long time without selling.
I looked for 2++ years & I am confident in saying that good houses sell fast...you don't see a lot of houses that are in move in condition in a good location staying on the market for too long. It will *always* be an in demand area for people who want a large property with top schools within commuting distance from the city...and who don't want Nassau county taxes. There really aren't too many other areas that fit those criteria.
(Though I will say that in Half Hollow Hills schools, the sections in Melville seem to be slightly more in demand than the sections in Dix Hills. This might be because Melville is closer to the city and much of the housing stock is newer.)
I know two people that were considering Dix Hills and passed on it: 1 passed due to it not having a downtown of any kind - it's just sort of a bunch of houses. Other person passed due to the commute to NYC.
There are a lot of houses for sale because it's a HUGE area...a better thing to look at is how many houses are just lingering on the market for a long time without selling.
I looked for 2++ years & I am confident in saying that good houses sell fast...you don't see a lot of houses that are in move in condition in a good location staying on the market for too long. It will *always* be an in demand area for people who want a large property with top schools within commuting distance from the city...and who don't want Nassau county taxes. There really aren't too many other areas that fit those criteria.
(Though I will say that in Half Hollow Hills schools, the sections in Melville seem to be slightly more in demand than the sections in Dix Hills. This might be because Melville is closer to the city and much of the housing stock is newer.)
Thanks for sharing your insight. We also checked out Melville, which seems to have comparable houses for the price. We basically looked into all the "top" school districts and found Dix Hills and Melville to have the most spacious houses for the price, while not being "too far" from NYC (~1hr to Penn or less).
Are there other towns we should look into? It looks like houses are generally newer the farther East you go, but commute time to NYC will obviously increase. Plainview, Rockville Centre, and Garden City are nice but houses are generally older unless you go 1M+.
I'm also curious, when people in this forum talk about "upper middle class", what income range are we talking about?
Have you calculate how long the door to door one way commute might be from Dix Hills to your workplace, for example? Could be 2 hours which scares some folks. The higher end Nassau towns with older and perhaps more charming homes, are quite pricey.
Have you calculate how long the door to door one way commute might be from Dix Hills to your workplace, for example? Could be 2 hours which scares some folks. The higher end Nassau towns with older and perhaps more charming homes, are quite pricey.
I did some research on this, door-to-door seems to be around 1.5hr which is about the most we can tolerate.
You are right, the older houses that look nice in Nassau all cost about 1M or more.
Here is my take on Dix Hills. It's a nice area with large properties. I have family that live out there and I get a little envious of their property during the Spring and Summer, but I take all that back in the fall when I see all the leaves on their lawns.
I live in western Nassau and my commute is a little over an hour door to door. And most of the commute is me walking to the train station and walking from Penn to my job. I'm at work and home so fast on the train that I barely have enough time to take a nap. On the few occasions that I've taken the train to Deer Park it just felt like a long, endless trip. You do get more property out there but if you are not prepared for that commute it could really get to you.
If you work on Long Island and don't have to mow/maintain your lawn then Dix Hills is a great location.
I know two people that were considering Dix Hills and passed on it: 1 passed due to it not having a downtown of any kind - it's just sort of a bunch of houses. Other person passed due to the commute to NYC.
Yeah if a downtown area is important to someone, then Dix Hills is not the place for them lol! Most places I looked at on the North Shore didn't have downtown areas either, so it was no big deal to us esp since there's tons of convenient shopping & restaurants close by. Just no 'main street'.
As for the commute it's a compromise...you can have a shorter commute and buy a smaller property with higher taxes in Nassau, or you can have a slightly longer commute with a bigger property & lower taxes in Dix Hills. Once you're in Suffolk county, really the only district with good schools that has a shorter commute is Cold Spring Harbor...but it's not *that* much shorter and you can get the same commute from parts of Melville. And of course with Melville/Dix Hills you have the option of taking the bus to NY which is great if you work on the east side.
Thanks for sharing your insight. We also checked out Melville, which seems to have comparable houses for the price. We basically looked into all the "top" school districts and found Dix Hills and Melville to have the most spacious houses for the price, while not being "too far" from NYC (~1hr to Penn or less).
Are there other towns we should look into? It looks like houses are generally newer the farther East you go, but commute time to NYC will obviously increase. Plainview, Rockville Centre, and Garden City are nice but houses are generally older unless you go 1M+.
I'm also curious, when people in this forum talk about "upper middle class", what income range are we talking about?
Thanks
Possibly check out Harborfields schools, especially Greenlawn which is less expensive than Centerport. Housing stock in general is less expensive than Dix Hills (though there are a few higher end properties as well). Commute time is about the same as Dix Hills, but a bit longer than parts of Melville.
As for what is upper middle class, I think it has more to do with overall lifestyle/education than actual income...
Actually, we have noticed that the inventory of for sale homes in Dix Hills has been high for quite some time after the housing bust. When we were house hunting a few years ago, we looked at many homes in that area, but found most sellers to have unrealistically high price expectations especially given all the competition and the conditions of the homes.
I think many sellers are empty-nesters who picked the area years ago for the schools, which were a big selling point. There was also a large Jewish contingent that settled in the area, making it a known destination for Jewish families.
I think many sellers expect buyers to pay the same premium price they paid for the schools. However, as many have said, the taxes are high, the train commute is long, and we found many of the houses are not up to date and some in pretty poor repair.
Actually, we have noticed that the inventory of for sale homes in Dix Hills has been high for quite some time after the housing bust. When we were house hunting a few years ago, we looked at many homes in that area, but found most sellers to have unrealistically high price expectations especially given all the competition and the conditions of the homes.
I think many sellers are empty-nesters who picked the area years ago for the schools, which were a big selling point. There was also a large Jewish contingent that settled in the area, making it a known destination for Jewish families.
I think many sellers expect buyers to pay the same premium price they paid for the schools. However, as many have said, the taxes are high, the train commute is long, and we found many of the houses are not up to date and some in pretty poor repair.
Agree- there are many houses that haven't been updated since they were built in the 60's/70's- those are the houses that tend to sit on the market forever and go thru many price drops. But there truly isn't a lot of inventory in move-in condition houses in good locations. Those houses go fast & buyers pay a lot for them (oftentimes I'm shocked at how high some of those houses sell for).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
