Oyster Bay Cove

Oyster Bay Cove’s gently rolling hills and woodlands dip away into the pristine waters of Oyster Bay Harbor, creating a home whose natural beauty and easy access to a wide range of outdoor activities set it apart. Luxury homes and sprawling estates dominate Oyster Bay on a minimum of an acre, though they frequently surpass 4 or 5 acres. Waterfront estates often have long private docks stretching out from their front yards, pointing homeowners to the harbor. These docks provide the perfect spot to jump into the water, dock boats and fish—all right in your front yard. For many, it’s these details that serve as the biggest draws to Oyster Bay Cove. “People who are looking for peace and quiet and waterfront properties tend to look in the Oyster Bay Cove area,” says Joanne Mackonochie, an associate broker at Compass Real Estate’s Syosset office.

The luxury homes and estates in Oyster Bay Cove start out at around $1.5 million and can climb to around $15 million for an estate with extensive acreage on the waterfront. “There really is a huge amount of space for people and different price ranges,” Mackonochie says. “So it attracts the people who are just looking for that $1.5 million or $2 million home, and yet you can easily find estates with over 4 acres for $7 million, $10 million or $11 million. You can have your own Gold Coast compound on one of these beautiful 5-acre properties.” The values of these homes are holding steady and even going up, says Mackonochie. “As Long Island gets busier, people want that room to spread out and not be on top of each other. And these properties of 1- or 2-plus acres afford these people that opportunity.”

Oyster Bay Cove’s space, beauty and peaceful, nature-centered lifestyle make it a popular place to live, but like so many other places on Long Island, low inventory has created a lot of competition for homes in the village. “When one of these homes comes on the market, people are aggressive in trying to be the first to get in to see it and have the opportunity to buy it,” Mackonochie says. “We’ve had homes go to contract in a matter of a week, just because it’s the right home. There are plenty of buyers out there just waiting for something to pop up, and as soon as we put something on the market, we are inundated with requests for showings and, most of the time, multiple offers.” Although homes with higher price tags may sell at a slightly slower speed, they’ve also been known to get snapped right up. "The $4 million- or $5 million-dollar ones do take a little longer to sell, but there are times where they go immediately because people who are looking in the area have their eye on it and when that special property comes up, they take advantage of it.” As a result, potential homebuyers should expect competition no matter what price bracket they’re looking to buy in.

Most children in the village attend the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District, which has an A rating on Niche. They begin their educations at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School before shifting to James H. Vernon School for third through sixth grades, then finish their education at Oyster Bay High School. The high school’s literary magazine has been recognized by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and frequently wins gold medals in the organization’s annual critiques. A smaller portion of the village is instead served by the Syosset Central School District, which Niche gives an A-plus rating and lists among the top three districts in New York. Along with the village’s luxury mansions and sprawling lots, this school district serves as a particularly strong draw for potential homebuyers. “The Syosset school district is an award-winning school district, so some people who are looking for that 2-acre property, 4,000-plus square foot home, search in Oyster Bay Cove,” Mackonochie says.

When Oyster Bay Cove residents aren’t enjoying water-based activities like boating, kayaking and fishing, they love exploring and hiking through the neighborhood’s many preserves, totaling dozens of acres of natural woodlands and fields. Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary, located next to Theodore Roosevelt’s final resting place in Youngs Memorial Cemetery, is perhaps the most well-known of these. It was bought by Roosevelt’s cousin and turned into the first sanctuary for songbirds in the United States to ensure that the birdsong that the late president so loved listening to would forever surround his grave. At 14 acres, the sanctuary features a garden full of feeders, baths and native plants designed to draw birds in alongside a famous Bessie Potter statue and a mile of hiking trails. The three other preserves within the village provide a wealth of other hiking spots, and there are plenty of others just outside the village’s borders, keeping every hike and nature walk feeling fresh and exciting. “It is a very big part of life here,” Mackonochie says. “We have wonderful hiking trails throughout Oyster Bay Cove. Because of the location, you have access to all of this outdoor activity.”

Oyster Bay Cove is situated next to Cove Neck’s many natural and historic sites, including Theodore Roosevelt’s historic home, now a museum, and the woodlands, orchard and private family beach surrounding it. Just a mile to the west, Oyster Bay provides an abundance of restaurants and little shops that residents can explore when they want a little more excitement. And despite the air of calm seclusion that can permeate the village, other major Long Island attractions aren’t very far away, either. “It’s conveniently located by all the North Shore top-rated restaurants, top-rated school districts, top-rated shopping,” Mackonochie says. “You have Miracle Mile located within a 30-minute drive, with all the high-end boutique shops.” Oyster Bay Cove’s central location also means that commuters can leave for Manhattan from Oyster Bay Station less than 2 miles from the village, a trip that takes about an hour and 25 minutes, or from Syosset Station just under 5 miles away, whose train reaches the city in about an hour. In the end, Oyster Bay Cove’s combination of benefits makes it a dream location for many people seeking a waterside estate. “It comes down to the property size, the school district, and really the ease of being so conveniently located that you can be in Manhattan within an hour train ride. And you also can enjoy the waterfront,” Mackonochie says. “We had a ton of people coming out from Manhattan and elsewhere to look for their sanctuary. And they found it in Oyster Bay Cove.”

Photography Contributed By

Jeff Rainone

Video By

Antoine Allen