Homes for sale in Rye

Rye is a small city in Westchester County, New York, set on the shore of Long Island Sound, about 40 kilometres (some 24 miles) from Manhattan. It has just over sixteen thousand inhabitants and one of the most sought-after combinations in all of suburban New York: direct trains to Grand Central, public schools with a strong reputation, a downtown where daily life is still lived on foot, and an indented coastline of harbours, yacht clubs and waterfront homes.

It is also one of the most expensive markets in the county. People who look here are not looking for a bargain: they are looking for a home in a town that changes little, close to New York without being New York. This page explains how the city is organised, what is for sale and at what price, and the costs and risks that do not show up in the photographs — which in Rye come down mainly to three: taxes, water and the age of the houses.

Where it is and how to get there

Rye lies in southeastern Westchester, between Port Chester and Harrison, with its coast facing Long Island Sound. One detail confuses many people: the City of Rye, which this page is about, is a different municipality from the Village of Rye Brook and from the old Town of Rye, which covers other communities. The ZIP codes are different too — 10580 in Rye, 10573 in Rye Brook — and so are the schools and the taxes.

The link to Manhattan is Metro-North, on the New Haven Line: Rye station has regular trains to Grand Central, and the trip takes from about 40 minutes on express trains to a little over 50 on those that stop at every station. By road, I-95 crosses the city and I-287 connects to the rest of Westchester and to the bridge towards New Jersey; LaGuardia and Westchester County airports are a short distance away, depending very much on traffic.

The city, area by area

Downtown and the streets near the station

Downtown Rye is an American small-town main street — Purchase Street and the streets around it — with independent shops, restaurants and services, a few minutes' walk from the station. The residential streets around it have older houses on small and medium lots, many from the early twentieth century, and they are the most sought-after by those who go to Manhattan every day: walking from home to the train is a luxury that is paid for here.

The inland residential neighbourhoods

Beyond downtown, the city spreads out into neighbourhoods of single-family houses on larger lots, with tree-lined streets and little traffic, between golf clubs and green spaces. This is where most four- and five-bedroom family homes are, with prices that depend mainly on the size of the lot, the condition of the house and the distance to the station.

The coast: Milton Point, Kirby Lane and the Sound

Rye's coastline is broken into peninsulas, coves and marinas, with yacht clubs and houses facing the water. This is where the city's most expensive homes are — on streets such as Kirby Lane, by Milton Harbor, or on the peninsulas facing the Sound — and it is also where water is both the value and the risk: the view, the boat access and the light are those of a waterfront house, and so are the coastal storms.

Playland and the public waterfront

On the southern shore stands Playland, a 1920s amusement park with a beach and boardwalk on the Sound, designated a National Historic Landmark. It belongs to Westchester County, which took back its direct operation and reopened it for the 2026 season. For those who live nearby, that means a holiday atmosphere and summer traffic; for the city, it is part of its identity.

Life in Rye: history, schools and clubs

Rye is one of the oldest settlements in Westchester: the first colonists arrived in 1660, and the Boston Post Road, the old road from New York to Boston, still runs through it. Along it stands the Jay Heritage Center, on the estate where John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the United States, grew up. The city was incorporated in 1942 — it is still the youngest city in New York State, since no other has been chartered since — and it has kept the scale of a village.

The engine of the market, however, is the schools. Rye has its own public school district, with schools a short distance from the residential areas, and that reputation brings, year after year, families from Manhattan looking for their first house with a garden. It is also why a house in Rye costs more than a similar house on the other side of the municipal line: part of the price is the school district.

Social life revolves a great deal around the clubs — golf, beach and yacht clubs — which are private, charge their own dues and, in some cases, have waiting lists. Buying a house next to a club does not come with membership. Anyone counting on that when choosing a house should find out about admission conditions and cost beforehand.

What is for sale and at what price

Our selection in Rye ranges from about US$ 1.8 million to US$ 10.75 million, with most of the houses between US$ 1.8 million and US$ 3.4 million. It is mainly a market of single-family houses with three to seven bedrooms: renovated older homes near downtown, family houses in the inland neighbourhoods and, at the top, waterfront houses on Kirby Lane and other coastal streets, above nine million.

There are also units in small buildings, with four bedrooms and house-sized floor areas, which are the cheapest way to have a Rye address near downtown — but they come with condominium rules and costs worth knowing about.

In Rye, the price per square metre varies enormously within the same city. A 250-square-metre house near the station can cost the same as a 400-square-metre one in a more distant neighbourhood, and a waterfront house can cost three or four times the price of a house of the same size a few streets away. Compare within the same kind of street, not by the city average.

Investment analysis

Appreciation

Rye has very limited supply — the city is built out, and there is almost no new land — and constant demand from families who work in Manhattan or Stamford and want the schools and the train. That has supported prices through several cycles. It is not a market for quick gains, but it is one of the most resilient in suburban New York.

Income

A rental market exists, mainly among families moving to the region who want to try it before buying, or executives on temporary contracts. But the gross yield, compared with the purchase price and the taxes, is low. Those who buy in Rye buy mainly to live there, or to hold value over the long term — not for income.

Exit

Well-located houses in good condition sell relatively easily, especially in spring, when families look to move before the school year. Very expensive houses and those needing work take longer, and seasonality matters: a house put on the market in November has fewer buyers than in April.

Points to consider

Property taxes

Westchester has some of the highest property taxes in the United States, and Rye is no exception: the annual tax on a family house can run to tens of thousands of dollars, adding up city, county and school district. That cost does not go away and rises over time. Always ask for the latest tax bill and check whether the assessment will be reviewed after the sale — which, after recent renovations or sales far above the assessed value, can push the tax up.

Blind Brook flooding

Blind Brook runs through the city to the Sound, and in September 2021 the remnants of Hurricane Ida brought severe flooding to downtown and to neighbourhoods along the brook and along Beaver Swamp Brook, damaging homes, shops and municipal buildings. Since then the city has commissioned studies and has a plan with dozens of mitigation measures, but many are still projects. A house near the brook can be charming and have a flooded basement in the next extreme rain: check the FEMA map and the house's history before making an offer.

The coast and storms

Waterfront houses are exposed to storm surges, like those the region suffered with Sandy in 2012. They are often in FEMA flood zones, with mandatory insurance if there is a mortgage and high premiums. The value of a coastal house only becomes clear with the cost of insurance and the elevation of the ground floor relative to the flood zone.

Older houses

A good part of Rye's houses are more than fifty or a hundred years old. Renovated, they are what people want; unrenovated, they can hide oil heating, old plumbing, asbestos or lead paint — which, in houses built before 1978, must be disclosed at sale. Always have a full inspection, and in very old houses an inspection of the structure, basement and roof.

Listings that change quickly

In Westchester, listings for well-positioned houses change status within weeks: they go to "under contract" or leave the market. A house seen as available a month ago may no longer be. Always confirm the current status before planning a visit.

Summer traffic and I-95

I-95 crosses the city and its noise reaches the nearest houses; in summer, Playland and the beaches bring queues to the streets of the southern shore. Visiting the house on a weekday at rush hour and on a Saturday in July shows what a Sunday-morning visit does not.

Rye is not Rye Brook

It seems a detail and it is not: schools, taxes and services depend on the municipality. A house with "Rye" in its street name or ZIP code may lie in another municipality. Confirm the municipality and the school district in the property records, not in the listing.

Legal and tax checklist, in the US

Before making an offer: the latest property tax bill and the status of the assessment; municipality and school district confirmed; FEMA flood map and insurance quote; the house's flood history; lead paint disclosure for houses built before 1978; for condominium units, the bylaws, fees and rental rules.

At purchase: in New York State, a purchase is usually handled by attorneys on both sides, with an inspection before the final contract and title insurance at closing. There are state transfer taxes and, above one million dollars, the so-called "mansion tax", paid by the buyer. Foreign buyers can buy without restrictions, but financing for non-residents is more expensive and requires a larger down payment.

While owning: annual property tax, insurance, maintenance — which weighs in an older house and a climate with hard winters — and, in a condominium, the monthly fees.

On sale: capital gains tax and, when the seller is a foreign person, FIRPTA withholding on the sale price, settled later on the tax return.

Who it suits — and who it does not

It suits families who work in Manhattan, Stamford or Westchester and want schools, the train and a town with a life of its own. It suits those who want a waterfront house less than an hour from New York and accept the cost of insurance. And it suits those looking for a property that holds its value over the long term in a market of limited supply.

It suits less those looking for income, those who do not want to pay high property taxes every year, and those looking for square metres at the best price: by that measure, there is more supply elsewhere in the county and the state.

Final thoughts

Rye sells something hard to find: a small town, with a coastline and a train, less than an hour from Manhattan. The price pays for that, and the taxes pay for the schools that make the city so sought-after. Anyone buying here should choose the street for the life they will lead — station, school, water — and confirm the costs and risks that a Saturday visit does not reveal.

The path is simple to state: confirm the municipality and the school district, ask for the tax bill and the flood map before any offer, and inspect the house with the care its age calls for.

When you contact us through a property page, we forward your enquiry to whoever has the complete information about that specific property — the year's property tax, the flood zone, the house's history and the current status of the listing. The entire inventory is available in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and Hebrew.