Northport truly is something special

Northport truly is something special. Walk to the end of Main Street and it opens up to Northport Harbor, and it really is an absolutely stunning view: the motorboats, the sailboats, the row of restaurants and the outdoor bandstand. In the summer, every week, there's live music at that bandstand. People grab their folding chairs and come just to hang out and listen to whatever band is playing that night.

Northport neighborhoods start with the Village of Northport, an incorporated village with its own village government, inside the Town of Huntington in Suffolk County. Around it are parts of the Northport area that sit outside the village line, and next door is East Northport, which shares the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District.

Northport is the more laid-back sibling to Huntington. It's more of a boating, beach type of place, and that's exactly why people love it.

We live in Huntington, and Northport is the village we head to when we want a slower evening by the water. We know it the way you know a place you choose to spend your free time in. Our office is at 315 Main Street in Huntington, at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Laffey International Realty, a short drive down 25A.

The houses here are not cookie-cutter, and that changes how a home gets priced. You've got lots of old historic homes, and you've got your share of luxury homes too. A sea captain-era house a few blocks from the harbor and a newer luxury home are different products with different buyers. We walk every house together before we put a number on it, and Mark has 30 years in construction and homebuilding behind him. With older Northport homes, he's looking at what's original, what's been rebuilt, and what a buyer's inspector will zero in on.

Then we show you our price, your number, and how we got there, using comps from Northport, the same school district, the same style and a similar size, sold in the last three to six months. That's our pricing step. When it's time to launch, every Northport listing gets the full launch plan.

And we know the Northport buyer is often picky in the best way. They've walked Main Street, they've sat by the bandstand, and they know what they want. Our job is to make sure the right ones see your home first, with photos and video that show off the house and the village it sits in.

Once you're listed, you hear from us every week in writing, and you can call us any time well into the evening. If day 31 comes without an accepted offer, we sit down together and decide the next move with you.

Lots of old historic homes, a real share of luxury homes, and not much that looks like the house next door. Around the village you'll see Victorians, colonials, capes and cottages, many of them restored or expanded. Outside the village there are more mid-century homes, and there's waterfront along the harbor and the Sound.

We won't print an average price for Northport. A village this varied makes an average meaningless: it blends a small cottage with a waterfront home and fits neither. What we'll give you instead is a comp set built for your specific house, and a clear explanation of each one.

Historic homes come with history in the paperwork too. Old additions, enclosed porches and finished attics don't always have permits on file. We have sellers check at the building department before we list, so a missing certificate of occupancy gets handled early instead of during the deal. Thinking about selling? Start with a Northport home valuation.

For buyers, an older Northport home is usually worth the charm, as long as you go in with your eyes open. Ask about the roof, the heating system, the electric and anything added later. We'd rather you know before you bid than find out after closing.

Because so few Northport houses look like the one next door, pricing here takes more care than in towns with rows of similar homes. A restored Victorian near the harbor and a newer luxury home a mile away may share a school district and little else. We pull comps from Northport, in the same school district, of the same style and close in size, sold within the last three to six months, and we widen only when there is nothing else, and we tell you when we do.

Older homes also bring older systems. We walk every house together, and Mark has 30 years of construction behind him, so a seller hears what a buyer's inspector is likely to notice before the house goes live. Fixing a small thing ahead of time costs far less than negotiating over it later.

The John W. Engeman Theater sits right on Main Street, doing Broadway-style productions year-round. Directly across the street is the Northport Hotel, which is a really wonderful addition to the village. It's upscale, and the restaurant there is superb. Put those two together with the harbor and the bandstand, and you have one of the best nights out on the North Shore.

The Northport-East Northport school district and its youth sports programs come up in nearly every conversation we have with buyers here, and every September the village fills up for Cow Harbor Day and its 10K race. The Northport station on the LIRR's Port Jefferson Branch is a short drive inland, and Route 25A connects you west to Centerport and Huntington.

Northport is really just as beautiful as Huntington. It's just a different vibe: more boating and beach, a little more laid-back. If that's what you're after, we'd love to show you around.