Smithtown, the town with the Bull

Smithtown is the hamlet at the center of the Town of Smithtown, in Suffolk County on Long Island's North Shore. Most people know it by the Bull, the big bronze statue where Jericho Turnpike (Route 25) meets Route 25A, which ties back to the local legend of Richard Smith riding a bull to mark out his land.

Smithtown neighborhoods spread out from Main Street, where you find shops, restaurants and the Smithtown Performing Arts Center. The Nissequogue River winds along the west side of the hamlet, with Caleb Smith State Park Preserve on Jericho Turnpike and Blydenburgh County Park to the south. Kids attend the Smithtown Central School District.

The Smithtown LIRR station sits on the Port Jefferson Branch, close to Main Street, and the Northern State and the LIE are a short drive south.

For sellers, the mix of Main Street, the river and the parks gives us a lot to show. For buyers, Smithtown rewards knowing exactly which part of the hamlet you want, because a house near Main Street and a house near the Northern State live very differently.

The Town of Smithtown dates to 1665. The Bull, a five-ton bronze about 14 feet long, went up on its pedestal in 1941 and was restored in 2019. Caleb Smith State Park Preserve covers 543 acres, with a nature center in a house from around 1751 and fly fishing on the Nissequogue in season. Smithtown Central runs two high schools, East and West, three middle schools and seven elementary schools. The Census puts the typical home's year built at 1967, and about 89 percent are single-family houses.

We are a short drive west in Huntington, and Smithtown comes up constantly with our buyers. Many of them are comparing it to Huntington, Commack and Northport all at once. We help them see the differences clearly, house to house, instead of hearing a pitch for one town.

For sellers, pricing in Smithtown takes care because the housing ranges so widely, from older homes near Main Street to postwar colonials to larger homes near the villages to the north. We keep comps inside Smithtown and the Smithtown Central School District first, same style, similar size, sold in the last three to six months. If we reach further, we tell you how far and why.

We walk every house together first. Mark has 30 years in construction and homebuilding, and he knows what a buyer's inspector will notice in an older Smithtown colonial: the electrical, the additions, the drainage. Then you see our price next to yours, and how we got there. The details are on our pricing page. We pick up the phone. Not at 2am, we sleep occasionally like everyone else, but long after most agents have called it a night.

When you list with us, your home gets the full launch: professional photos and video, a 3D tour, Zillow Showcase, a property website and paid ads aimed at people shopping the North Shore. See how on our marketing page. You get weekly updates, written or by phone, and with System 31 from Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, if there is no accepted offer in 30 days, we sit back down on day 31.

Smithtown housing is mostly single-family: colonials, capes, ranches, high ranches and split-levels, many on larger lots than you find on the South Shore. Around Main Street there are older homes with historic character, and north toward the Sound, larger luxury and estate properties.

A hamlet-wide average mixes all of that. If you are selling, start with a home valuation. If you are thinking about a smaller house after years in a bigger one, our downsizing page explains how we plan the timing. Buyers looking at the larger homes can start with our luxury homes page.

Before we list, we have sellers pull permits and certificates of occupancy at the Town of Smithtown building department, or the village, for homes in the Village of the Branch. Older homes and homes with additions are where open permits hide. For buyers, we explain which issues are normal for a house that age and which ones need a closer look from one of the two or three inspectors we recommend.

Around Main Street, many homes carry historic character, and older homes bring practical questions about wiring, heating, foundations and past additions. Mark spent 30 years in construction and homebuilding, and we walk these houses together before we name a price. Sellers hear what a buyer's inspector is likely to notice. Buyers hear what they are really taking on and what to budget for.

Inspections on Long Island usually happen before contract, within a day or two of an accepted offer. We recommend two or three inspectors, never just one, and we line them up early so you are not scrambling.

Sellers, we ask you to pull your permits and certificate of occupancy at the building department before listing. It keeps an old addition, a finished basement or a deck from slowing down a sale. Then we price against Smithtown homes of the same style and size, in the same school district, sold within three to six months, and you see our price, your number and how we got there before you sign.

Buyers comparing Smithtown with Huntington, Commack and Northport get the same help: we check every address for its school district, so the comparison is fair.

If you are selling and buying at the same time, we plan both moves together, so your sale and your purchase line up instead of colliding.

A Smithtown weekend might be a walk at Caleb Smith, a paddle on the Nissequogue, a show at the performing arts center and dinner on Main Street. Sunken Meadow on the Sound is a short drive. Commuters use the Smithtown station on the Port Jefferson Branch. Call us and we will show you around.

Blydenburgh County Park, south of town, covers 627 acres at the head of the Nissequogue River, with trails and a historic district of its own, and it is a favorite for long walks. Its Stump Pond drained when the dam failed in the August 2024 storms, and the county is working on a new dam.