Buying in Valley Stream: Home prices, shopping, NYC proximity draw homebuyers
Businesses along South Franklin Avenue sit near the LIRR in Valley Stream. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
THE SCOOP Proximity to the city, reasonable home prices and convenient shopping draw homebuyers to Valley Stream.
"You come in from Queens, Brooklyn, and you want to go into the suburbs where houses are little a far apart from each other," said Hassan Shah of Best American Homes. "This is the first place: Valley Stream."
Encompassing the incorporated village and parts of North and South Valley Stream, the hamlet boasts four popular parks: Arthur J. Hendrickson, Valley Stream State, Village Green and Edward W. Cahill Memorial. It's also home to one of the Island's first malls, Green Acres Mall.
First inhabited by Rockaway Native Americans who hunted in its forests, Valley Stream was settled in the late 1700s by Europeans who farmed the land and established communities of Hungry Harbor, Fosters Meadow and Tigertown.
Valley Stream has two LIRR stations: Valley Stream, top, and Gibson. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
In 1843, the hamlet was named Valley Stream for its topography of hills, valleys and streams when Robert Pagan, a Scottish immigrant who'd settled there three years earlier and established the first general store, lobbied for a post office. Pagan's family home is now the Pagan-Fletcher Restoration museum. The hamlet is the site of the former Curtiss Airport — the Island's largest commercial airport from 1930 to 1933 — and the birthplace of actors/filmmakers Ed Burns and Steve Buscemi.
Barrett Park, top left, is near the Gibson LIRR station, while Village Green Park, top right, and the Firemen's Memorial are near Valley Stream LIRR. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
With the construction of railroad service to Far Rockaway in 1869, hundreds of passengers changed trains in Valley Stream. Hotels soon appeared to serve the waiting commuters, turning Tigertown into "Rum Junction." In 1922, developer William Gibson started building homes for people moving out of New York City. The last building boom in the village coincided with the expansion of Sunrise Highway into a six-lane roadway.
"Valley Stream continues to seek carefully planned housing to accommodate the varied needs of our community, said Ed Fare, Mayor of the village of Valley Stream, noting that senior housing adjacent to the existing senior apartment complex near village hall was recently approved and several transit-oriented rental complexes are in various stages of development near the train station.
Buyers today will find mostly Colonials, Capes and ranch homes, with prices starting at $500,000 and going up to $1.495 million for a six-bedroom, 4,100-square-foot custom home.
Homes along Cochran Place, top, and Dartmouth Street in Valley Stream. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
CONDOS AND CO-OPS There are two condos, priced at $459,000 and $524,999, and one co-op, priced at $280,000, on the market.
SALE PRICES Between Sept. 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2023, there were 355 home sales with a median sale price of $639,000, according to OneKey MLS. The low price for that period was $195,000 and the high was $1.5 million. During that period a year earlier there were 468 home sales with a median sale price of $620,500. The price range was $355,000 to $1.3 million.
OTHER STATS
Population 40,304
Median age 42
Median home value $639,500
Monthly LIRR ticket from Valley Stream $253
School districts, graduation rates Valley Stream (95.7%), Hewlett-Woodmere (95.2%), Lynbrook (97%)
Library Henry Waldinger Memorial Library
Transit NICE Bus Routes 1, 4, 4x
Sources: 2021 American Community Survey; OneKey MLS; LIRR, data.nysed.gov
ON THE MARKET
$849,999
This $849,999 Valley Stream home has two patios. Credit: EPM Real Estate Photography
At around 2,000 square feet, this four-bed, three-bath Colonial features LED lighting throughout, hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. A second kitchen, bedroom, living room and bathroom in the basement make the house a possible mother-daughter home. The 0.19-acre fenced-in property has a front gate, two patios, a deck and a detached two-car garage. Taxes are $ 11,322. Hassan Z. Shah, Best American Homes, 516-792-6252.
$759,999
This $759,999 Valley Stream home has four bedrooms. Credit: Russell Pratt Photography
This approximately 2,100-square-foot Colonial has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. It features a front porch, marble floors, kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite counters, updated bathrooms and a full finished basement. The 0.14-acre property, located on a cul-de-sac, is partially fenced-in and has an attached one-car garage. Taxes are $12,952. Jaswinder Singh and Gagandeep Manuja, Realty Connect USA, 516-714-3606.
$699,990
This $699,000 Valley Stream home sits on a ¼-acre. Credit: Matt Capowski
This 1,107-square-foot ranch has three beds, 2½ baths, central air conditioning, hardwood floors, an open floor plan, updated kitchen and a finished basement. Located on a cul-de-sac, the ¼-acre fenced-in property has a one-car garage. Taxes are $11,602. Dharamdeo and Matthew Jagrooph, Liberty Realty Corp., 718-464-4190.
RECENTLY SOLD
$870,000
Home St.
Style Colonial
Bedrooms 4
Bathrooms 2½
Built 1956
Lot size 0.17 acre
Taxes $17,766
+/- List price +$5,000
Days on market 105 days
$720,000
Address Seventh St.
Style Cape
Bedrooms 4
Bathrooms 2
Built 1960
Lot size 0.17 acre
Taxes $14,768
+/- List price +$91,000
Days on market 74 days
$555,000
Dover St.
Style Cape
Bedrooms 4
Bathrooms 1
Built 1940
Lot size 0.11 acre
Taxes $11,602
+/- List price -$4,000
Days on market 46 days
ON ONEKEY MLS
Number of listings 95
Price range $280,000 to $1.4 million
Tax range $8,752 to $21,038
