Homes for sale in Elmont

Elmont is a community in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York State, right on the border with the borough of Queens, in New York City. It is not a village with its own government: it is a “hamlet” of the town of Hempstead, and local services come from the town and the county. It has about 35,000 residents, according to the 2020 census, in an area of just over eight square kilometers, almost entirely taken up by single-family homes.

It is best known for Belmont Park, the racetrack where the Belmont Stakes is run, and for UBS Arena, the home of the New York Islanders, which opened in 2021. For buyers, Elmont offers houses with yards a few minutes from Queens, a recently built train station, and prices below those of many neighboring Nassau communities. The trade-offs are property taxes, noise from planes landing at JFK Airport, traffic on event days, and a housing stock that is almost entirely postwar. This page explains the community, what you can find for sale, and what is worth checking before you buy.

Where it is and how to get there

Elmont is at the western edge of Nassau County. To the west is Queens, with the neighborhoods of Cambria Heights and Queens Village; to the south is Valley Stream; to the east, Franklin Square; and to the north, Belmont Park and Floral Park. People who cross the border on foot often do not even notice it: the residential streets look the same on both sides.

By car, Elmont sits at the junction of two highways, the Cross Island Parkway, which heads north toward the Throgs Neck Bridge, and the Southern State Parkway, which runs east across Long Island. Hempstead Turnpike is the commercial avenue that cuts through the community from west to east. JFK Airport is a short drive away, to the southwest.

For a long time Elmont had no station of its own: residents used the ones in Floral Park, Valley Stream, or Queens Village. In November 2021 the Long Island Rail Road opened the Elmont-UBS Arena station, the first new station on the network in almost fifty years, at first in one direction only and, from October 2022, in both. It later began operating on non-event days as well. Trains run to Jamaica and, from there, to Manhattan, both to Penn Station and to Grand Central Madison. Before counting on it for a daily commute, check the schedule and the walking distance from the house, because the station is next to the Belmont complex, in the north of the community.

There are also buses: the QM64 express line, run by New York City, starts and ends in Elmont, and the n1 and n6 lines of the NICE network, run by Nassau County, serve the area.

A little history

The area began as farmland. In 1650, Christopher and Thomas Foster bought land there that they named Foster's Meadow. The region passed from Dutch to English rule in 1664 and belonged to Queens County until 1898, when Nassau County was created and the border that still separates Elmont from New York City was drawn. The name Elmont was adopted in 1882.

The big change came with the racetrack. In 1902, a group led by August Belmont Jr. and William C. Whitney went looking for land for a track, and Belmont Park opened in 1905. The surrounding farms were gradually divided into lots for houses. In 1910 the racetrack hosted the first air race in the United States. Elmont tried to incorporate as a village in 1931, 1940, and 1949, without success, and it remains a hamlet of the town of Hempstead.

After World War II, Elmont filled up with suburban houses, many in the Cape Cod style, especially around Dutch Broadway. Most of the houses for sale today date from that period. In recent decades the population has changed a great deal: Elmont is now one of the most diverse communities on Long Island, with a large community of Haitian, Jamaican, Guyanese, and African American origin, and another of Indian and Pakistani origin, alongside families of Italian and Irish origin who have lived there for generations.

In 2017 the state chose the New York Islanders' project for the Belmont land, and UBS Arena opened in the fall of 2021. In October 2024 Belmont Park Village, an outlet shopping center with brand-name stores, opened next door. And the racetrack itself has been rebuilt: the old brick grandstand was demolished, and the track reopened on September 18, 2026, with a new, smaller grandstand, a synthetic track for year-round racing, and access to the infield. The full project is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2027, the year the Belmont Stakes returns to Elmont, after three editions in Saratoga, and Belmont also hosts the Breeders' Cup.

Elmont, area by area

Belmont, UBS Arena, and Hempstead Turnpike

The north of the community is dominated by the Belmont complex: the racetrack, UBS Arena, the shopping center, and the station. Running alongside it is Hempstead Turnpike, with supermarkets, restaurants of many cuisines, pharmacies, banks, and shops of every kind. The streets just behind the avenue have stores close at hand and are the most convenient for anyone who wants to use the station, but they are also the ones most affected by the crowds on game and race days.

Dutch Broadway and the residential core

Most of Elmont is a regular grid of streets of single-family homes on small lots, with a lawn in front and a yard in back. Around Dutch Broadway, Elmont Road, and Meacham Avenue are the postwar Cape Cod houses, many of them expanded over the years with a second floor. There are also colonial-style houses, high ranches, and newer houses built where an old house was torn down. This is the area of the elementary schools, the churches, and the neighborhood parks.

The border with Queens

On the west side, along the Cross Island Parkway and the border with Cambria Heights and Queens Village, the streets look very much like those on the other side of the line, but the address is in Nassau. That changes the school district, the way the property tax is calculated, and the public services. Anyone buying here is a few minutes from Queens but pays Long Island taxes.

The south, near Valley Stream

In the south, near Valley Stream and the Southern State Parkway, some streets belong to the Valley Stream school districts rather than Elmont's. It is also the part closest to the approach routes to JFK Airport. Here, more than in any other area, confirm the school district and spend some time at the house listening to the sky.

Schools, healthcare, and services

Most of Elmont belongs to the Elmont Union Free School District, for schooling through 6th grade, with schools such as Covert Avenue, Dutch Broadway, Gotham Avenue, and Clara H. Carlson, and to the Sewanhaka Central High School District, for 7th through 12th grade, which includes Elmont Memorial High School and Sewanhaka High School. Part of the community belongs to the Valley Stream 13 district, for elementary school, and to the Valley Stream Central High School District, for secondary school. In the United States the school district affects both the price and the tax bill, so always confirm it using the exact address, and check each school's results in the official New York State reports.

There is no hospital in Elmont, but there are several a short distance away, in Queens and in Nassau. Everyday shopping is on Hempstead Turnpike and the main avenues, and for bigger shopping trips there is the Belmont shopping center and, farther east, the large malls in Garden City and Valley Stream. Water, sewer, and garbage collection are public services, provided by the town, the county, or special districts, depending on the address.

What is for sale

In Elmont, what sells is mostly single-family homes: postwar Cape Cods, colonial and high ranch houses, expanded houses, and some new or fully rebuilt houses. There are also small multi-family buildings, building lots and commercial properties on Hempstead Turnpike and Meacham Avenue; apartments are rare. In our selection, prices range from about US$200,000, for a small commercial property, to about US$3.75 million, for a commercial property on Hempstead Turnpike, with a median value of around US$799,000. Houses range from about US$389,000 to US$1.85 million. At the lower end are small houses and those that need work; in the middle, three- to five-bedroom houses that have already been expanded; at the top, new or rebuilt houses with many bedrooms and bathrooms, and the multi-family buildings.

Compared with the Nassau communities farther east and farther north, Elmont is usually more affordable for a house of the same size, and its proximity to Queens and the new station attract buyers who work in the city. Supply changes quickly: well-presented houses with realistic prices tend to sell in a short time.

Points to consider

Property taxes

The annual property tax in Nassau County is among the highest in the United States and is made up of several layers: county, town, school district, and special districts, such as water, lighting, or fire districts. On a typical Elmont house, the bill usually runs in the range of ten thousand dollars a year, and it can be much more on a large or rebuilt house. Ask for the most recent tax bill for that specific house, with each component broken out, and check whether it includes exemptions that disappear with the sale, such as STAR, which is tied to a primary residence, or whether an assessment challenge is under way.

Aircraft noise

Elmont lies under one of the approach routes to JFK Airport. When planes land on runways 22L and 22R, they pass over Elmont, Valley Stream, and Floral Park, and residents complain about increasing noise, especially at night. In 2025 the town of Hempstead sued the Port Authority over the noise. The intensity varies from street to street and from day to day, depending on the wind and the runways in use. Before buying, visit the house at different times, including late afternoon and at night.

Event days

With UBS Arena, the rebuilt racetrack, and the shopping center, the north of Elmont draws tens of thousands of people on days of games, concerts, and major races. In 2027 the Belmont Stakes and the Breeders' Cup return. Hempstead Turnpike and the highway access roads get congested, and parking on nearby streets can become hard to find. Anyone buying near the complex should look at the event calendar and walk down the street on a game day.

Postwar houses and additions

Most houses are seventy years old or more, and many have been expanded by successive owners. It is common to find lead paint, which federal law requires sellers to disclose in homes built before 1978, old electrical wiring and plumbing, damp basements, and roofs that need replacing. Get a complete independent inspection and confirm with the town that every addition, every extra bathroom, and any basement apartment is permitted and listed on the certificate of occupancy. An unpermitted room may have to be legalized or removed.

Traffic and commuting

The new station helps, but it is in the north of the community, and many houses are far from it on foot. Anyone who drives into the city depends on the Cross Island Parkway, the Southern State Parkway, and the Queens avenues, all of them congested at rush hour. Make the trip from home to work at the time of day you would be making it every day, before deciding.

A community without its own government

Because Elmont is not a village, decisions about zoning, permits, and major projects, such as the one at Belmont, are made by the town of Hempstead, the county, and the state. Residents have less direct control over what gets built around them than in neighboring villages with their own governments. It is worth following what is planned for the land around Belmont before buying near it.

Legal and tax checklist in the United States

Before buying: the most recent property tax bill; confirmation of the school district by address; an independent inspection; permits for additions and the certificate of occupancy; visits to the house at different times, because of aircraft noise; and, near Belmont, the event calendar.

At purchase: in New York State, a purchase is usually handled with an attorney on each side, and a contract is signed before the closing. Budget for title insurance, which protects against problems in the chain of ownership, closing costs, and transfer taxes: the state transfer tax, usually paid by the seller, and, on residential purchases of US$1 million or more, the so-called “mansion tax,” 1% of the total price, paid by the buyer. Confirm the rules and rates with your attorney at the time of purchase. Buyers from abroad need a US taxpayer identification number, the ITIN, to report income, and at closing the bank and the attorney will ask for proof of the source of funds.

How to structure the purchase: some people buy in their own name and others use a company, such as an LLC, for reasons of liability, estate planning, or privacy. Each option has consequences for taxes, financing, and beneficial ownership reporting, and the disclosure rules have been changing in recent years. Decide with an American attorney and accountant before signing.

While you own it: property tax paid to the county, the town, the school district, and the special districts; insurance; maintenance, which in a postwar house is always more than it seems. Rental income must be reported in the United States, even by nonresidents, and short-term rentals are subject to the town of Hempstead's rules, which are worth confirming before you count on that income.

When selling: capital gains tax. Sellers who are not US residents are subject to FIRPTA withholding at closing, which is an advance payment of the tax and not the final tax. It is a good idea to talk with an American accountant before selling.

Who it makes sense for — and who it does not

It makes sense for people who want a house with a yard a few minutes from Queens and JFK Airport; for those who work in the city and can use the new station or the highways; for families looking for more space at a price below that of other Nassau communities; for people who enjoy living in a very diverse community; and for anyone who wants to be close to UBS Arena and the new Belmont Park.

It makes less sense for people who cannot tolerate aircraft noise, for those who want a new, maintenance-free house for the price of an old one, for anyone who does not want to deal with the crowds on event days, for those counting on the station without checking how far away it is, and for anyone running the numbers without including Nassau taxes.

Final thoughts

Elmont is one of the gateways to Long Island: houses with yards, minutes from the city, in a community that has changed a great deal in recent years with UBS Arena, the new station, and the rebuilding of Belmont Park. Prices are still below those in much of Nassau, and there are good buys for those who look carefully. What separates a good purchase from a bad one is the tax bill and the school district for that address, the house's position relative to the flight paths and the Belmont complex, and the real condition of a seventy-year-old house with several additions.

When you contact us through a property page, we forward your details to our partner broker, who has the complete information on that specific property — tax bill, school district, permits, noise, and negotiating terms.