By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass

TL;DR:

Sixteen houses sold in Port Washington in September 2026. The same number sold in September 2025. But the prices were very different. The middle price went from $1,044,000 to $1,481,500. That is a jump of almost 42 percent. At the same time, the average price went down slightly. Both of those things are true, and the reason is worth understanding. Last September, a few very expensive Sands Point homes pulled the average up. This September, far more houses sold in the middle range. Take Sands Point out of both months and the picture gets simple: the middle price rose 45 percent and the average rose about 15 percent. Houses also sold faster. The middle house took about 17 days to find a buyer, down from 26 days a year ago. Ten of the sixteen sold for asking price or more. And more than half the buyers paid cash. Sellers thinking about listing in Port Washington should know that the middle of this market is the strongest part of it right now.

What the Numbers Say

Two numbers get used to describe a housing market, and they do not always agree.

The first is the middle price, which agents call the median. Line up all sixteen sales from cheapest to most expensive and look at the one in the middle. In September 2026 that number was $1,481,500. A year earlier it was $1,044,000.

The second is the average. Add up every sale price and divide by sixteen. That came to $1,631,063 this September, which is slightly lower than the $1,684,156 of a year ago.

So one number went up a lot and the other went down a little. Neither is wrong. They just measure different things, and the average is easy to pull around. Two very large sales in one month can lift it even if most houses sold for less.

Here is the cleanest way to see what really happened. Sands Point homes trade at prices far above the rest of the peninsula. Set those sales aside in both months and look at everything else. The middle price rose about 45 percent, from $939,000 to $1,361,500. The average rose too, by about 15 percent. Once the very top of the market is removed, both numbers point the same direction.

That is the honest headline for September. Prices in the main part of Port Washington went up. Sellers who want a deeper explanation of what moves those numbers can read more about what determines home values in Port Washington.

The Middle of the Market Filled In

The biggest change from last year was not at the top or the bottom. It was in the middle.

In September 2026, seven houses sold for between $1.3 million and $2 million. In September 2025, not a single house sold in that range. Not one. Last September had five sales above $2.3 million and then a gap, with the next sale down at about $1.26 million.

That gap is what made last year’s numbers look so strange. There was very little in between.

This September the middle filled in. Seven houses landed in that band, which is almost half of all sales. For a seller whose home sits in that price range, that matters more than any single statistic. It means there were real buyers shopping at that level, and real sales to compare against. A homeowner who lists at $1.5 million today has recent nearby sales to support the price. A year ago, that same seller had almost nothing to point to.

Buyers and sellers in Port Washington can see more about the town’s different neighborhoods and price levels on the Port Washington community guide.

The First Three Weeks Decide the Price

September’s data shows a clear pattern, and it is the same one the August report showed.

Every single house that sold for more than three percent above its asking price went under contract within 26 days. Every one. The strongest results came even faster. The house that sold for 19 percent above asking took 13 days. One that sold for 17 percent above took 19 days. Another at 14 percent above took 20 days.

Houses that sold below asking took longer. One finished at 86 percent of its asking price after 35 days on the market. Another renovated ranch in the village started at $1,299,000, came off the market, went back on, and finally closed at $1,050,000 after 53 days. That is 81 percent of where it started.

The lesson is about the opening price, not the calendar. A home priced correctly gets its attention in the first two or three weeks, and competing buyers push the number up. A home priced too high quietly loses those same weeks, and the price it eventually gets is lower than if it had been priced right from the start.

Consider a composite example. A Port Washington homeowner has a four-bedroom colonial in the middle of town. Recent nearby sales support about $1,450,000. The owner wants to try $1,625,000 first, with the idea of lowering it later if nothing happens. Based on September’s pattern, that plan costs money. The house would likely sit through its best three weeks, then need a price cut, and then sell for somewhere in the $1,350,000 range because buyers now see a home that nobody wanted. Listing at $1,450,000 would more likely have drawn several buyers in the first two weeks and finished at or above that number.

Sellers whose homes have already stalled can read more about why a Port Washington home might not be selling.

Sands Point Moves on Its Own

Sands Point is part of Port Washington’s mailing address, but its market behaves differently, and mixing it in with everything else makes both pictures blurry.

Two homes sold there in September 2026. Both sold for slightly less than asking. One took 82 days. The other took 15. A year earlier, three homes sold in the village, and those three sales alone totaled more than $11 million.

That is the entire reason the peninsula-wide average looked like it went down. Fewer and smaller Sands Point sales this September, compared with a bigger group last year. Nothing about the rest of the town got weaker.

Within Sands Point itself, last September held the clearest pricing lesson in either month. One waterfront estate first came on the market at $7,990,000. It eventually closed at $4,150,000. That is 52 percent of the original asking price, and the listing was active for 379 days across its full run. In that very same month, another Sands Point home listed at $2,850,000 and sold for $2,920,000 in eight days.

Same village. Same month. One house took more than a year to sell for about half its starting price. The other sold above asking in a week. The difference was where each one started.

Sellers in the village should also plan for the extra steps that come with it, which the post on Sands Point village rules and waterfront closings walks through.

More Than Half the Buyers Paid Cash

Nine of the sixteen buyers in September 2026 paid cash. No mortgage at all. A year earlier, seven of sixteen did.

Cash shows up across the whole price range, not only at the top. Most of the sales under $1.1 million this September were cash purchases.

For a seller, a cash offer is worth something real. There is no lender, which means no appraisal that can come in low and no loan that can fall apart weeks later. Those deals tend to close on time. That is why a cash offer slightly below the highest offer is sometimes the better one to take.

It also tells sellers something about who is shopping. When half the buyers do not need a loan, rising mortgage rates do not slow this market down as much as people expect.

Fewer Condos and Co-ops Sold

One part of the market clearly shrank.

Only three attached homes sold in Port Washington in September 2026. In September 2025, nine did. That is a drop of two thirds.

Total sales of all kinds fell from 25 to 19, and almost all of that decline came from this one category. Houses held steady at sixteen both months.

A single month is a small sample, so this is worth watching rather than worrying about. Owners planning a move into something smaller can see what is actually available in the post on downsizing without leaving Port Washington.

What Sellers Should Do With This

For a Port Washington owner thinking about listing, September points to a short list of steps.

Start by looking at sales in the actual price range, not the town-wide numbers. A $1.4 million colonial and a $3.8 million waterfront home are in two different markets that happen to share a post office.

Next, set the opening price to win the first three weeks. September’s data is clear that this is where the premium is earned. Every home that sold meaningfully above asking did it quickly.

Then get the house ready before it goes on, not after. The first three weeks only work if the home is finished, photographed, and clean when buyers start arriving.

Finally, handle paperwork early. In New York an attorney is required for the sale, and an open permit or a missing certificate of occupancy can hold up a closing. Those are better found in advance, which the post on open permits and certificates of occupancy covers in detail. Sellers may also want to look at whether to grieve their property taxes before listing, since the next Nassau County filing window opens in early January.

The honest bottom line for September is this. The middle of Port Washington’s market is the strongest part of it right now, buyers moved quickly when the price was right, and more than half of them did not need a bank. What a seller cannot do is price high and expect the market to come get them. Nothing in this month’s numbers suggests that works. Owners who want a current read on their own home can start with a home valuation.

Based on information from OneKey® MLS, for the period September 1, 2026 through September 30, 2026, and September 1, 2025 through September 30, 2025. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

FAQs

Why did the middle price go up 42 percent if the average went down?

Because the two numbers measure different things. The middle price, or median, is the sale right in the middle of the list. The average adds every sale together and divides by the number of sales. A small number of very expensive homes can pull the average up or down without telling anyone much about a typical house. In September 2025, three Sands Point sales totaling more than $11 million lifted the average. In September 2026 there were only two Sands Point sales, and they were smaller. Set Sands Point aside in both months and both numbers rise, which is the better description of what happened.

How long did it take to sell a house in Port Washington in September 2026?

The middle house went under contract in about 17 days, down from 26 days in September 2025. Speed tracked closely with price. Every home that sold for more than three percent above asking went to contract within 26 days, and the strongest results came in 11 to 20 days. Homes that eventually sold below asking generally took longer, with the slowest examples running 35 to 53 days. Days on market in Port Washington is less about the season than about whether the opening price matched what buyers believed the home was worth.

Is now a good time to list a home in Port Washington?

September’s numbers were strong in the middle of the market, with prices up, homes selling faster, and ten of sixteen houses getting asking price or better. That said, the better question for most owners is not the month but the preparation. A home that is ready, priced to recent nearby sales, and photographed well tends to do better in a slow month than an unprepared home does in a busy one. The post on when to list a home in Port Washington walks through how the timing and the prep work fit together.

Should a seller take a cash offer over a higher offer with a mortgage?

Sometimes, and it comes down to certainty. A cash buyer has no lender, which means no appraisal that can come in below the agreed price and no loan approval that can collapse after weeks of waiting. Those sales tend to close on schedule. A financed offer that is somewhat higher may still be the better choice if the buyer is well qualified and has a substantial down payment. With more than half of September’s buyers paying cash, Port Washington sellers are likely to face this exact comparison, and it is worth walking through each offer’s terms rather than only its number.

Why do different websites show different prices for Port Washington homes?

Because they are measuring different groups of sales over different time periods, and some update more slowly than others. One site may include condos and co-ops while another counts only houses. One may be reporting the past twelve months while another reports a single month. Some carry data that is several months behind. This report covers closed sales of single-family homes and attached homes in Port Washington during September 2026, compared against the same month in 2025, drawn from OneKey MLS. Any seller comparing figures across sites should check what each one is actually counting before treating the difference as meaningful.

By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass

Eric Berman | Long Island & Queens Associate Broker | Compass
1468 Northern Blvd, Manhasset, NY 11030
(917) 225-8596 | eric@ericbermanre.com | theericbermanteam.com