Is Long Island’s North Shore Shifting Toward a Landlord-Friendly Rental Market? A Deep Dive into Huntington, Northport, Greenlawn, and Kings Park

By Valerie LaBianca | Real Estate Trends

For years, renters on Long Island's North Shore could count on a fairly predictable market. That's changing. Tight inventory, expensive mortgages, and a construction pipeline that hasn't kept pace with demand are pushing the balance of power toward landlords across Suffolk County , and nowhere is that shift more visible than in the tight-knit villages that make up the Huntington Township: Huntington, Northport, Greenlawn, and Kings Park.

Here's what the current data shows in each of these ZIP codes, why prices are moving the way they are, and what it means for renters, investors, and landlords weighing their next move.

Why the North Shore Is Tightening Up

The same forces reshaping the national rental conversation are playing out locally. Elevated mortgage rates have kept would-be buyers renting longer, while a slowdown in new residential construction has limited the supply of fresh units coming to market. Suffolk County's office and industrial sectors have also seen leasing activity accelerate to record levels, a sign of broader economic momentum feeding housing demand in towns that offer commuter rail access to Manhattan.

On the North Shore specifically, geography is destiny. Huntington, Northport, Greenlawn, and Kings Park are largely built out, with little room for new large-scale apartment development. That scarcity, paired with steady demand from commuters using the Long Island Rail Road's Port Jefferson branch, keeps upward pressure on rents even when national headlines suggest cooling.

Huntington, NY 11743

Huntington Village remains the anchor of the North Shore rental market, and it comes with a price tag to match. According to RentHop, rentals in the 11743 ZIP code range from around $1,900 for a studio up to roughly $5,425 for a four-bedroom unit, with the median asking rent for all currently listed units sitting near $3,800, or about $51 per square foot. One-bedroom units have climbed to an average of about $2,800, up roughly 2.4% year-over-year, while two-bedroom rentals have jumped more sharply , up nearly 24% year-over-year to around $4,250.

Zumper's tracking tells a slightly different story month to month: as of mid-2026, the average asking rent across all unit types in Huntington sits around $3,300–$3,500, which is up compared to the prior month but down roughly 12% from the same time last year, a reminder that Huntington's rental market can swing significantly depending on which luxury or new-construction listings are active in a given month.

On the ownership side, the average home value in 11743 is now over $900,000, according to Zillow, and homes are going to pending in around three to four weeks , a pace that keeps plenty of would-be buyers in the rental pool instead. Active listings on Zillow and Trulia show single-family rental homes commonly priced between $3,200 and $5,700 a month, while newer buildings like Fairfield Metro at Huntington Village and Gerard Street Apartments post two-bedroom units well above $4,000.

Takeaway: Huntington is the priciest of the four markets, driven by its downtown walkability, harbor access, and status as the area's commercial and dining hub.

Northport, NY 11768

Northport Village trades some of Huntington's price intensity for small-town charm , and renters are willing to pay a premium for it. Rentometer places one-bedroom apartments in the $2,200–$2,900 range and two-bedrooms between $3,000 and $3,200, while Trulia's market tracker puts the overall average rent across all home types at roughly $3,200, with houses renting noticeably higher (around $3,694 on average) than apartments and condos ($2,400 on average).

Newer managed communities are setting the tone at the top of the market. Fairfield Northport Village, on Main Street, lists one-bedrooms in the $2,930–$2,995 range and two-bedrooms between $3,210 and $3,235, while the harbor-adjacent Fairfield Northport Harbor community commands over $3,375 for a one-bedroom. Single-family rental homes near the waterfront, such as those on Waterside Avenue, have listed as high as $3,800 for a two-bedroom.

Trulia's monthly data shows rents bouncing between roughly $2,835 and $3,500 over the past year, with no clear straight-line trend , a sign that Northport's small rental inventory makes month-to-month averages sensitive to whichever units happen to be listed.

Takeaway: Northport commands Huntington-adjacent pricing for its walkable village, harbor views, and LIRR access, but its limited number of listings means prices can be volatile from month to month.

Greenlawn, NY 11740

Greenlawn is the quietest of the four markets in terms of listing volume, but that scarcity is exactly what's keeping rents firm. Rentometer data shows three-bedroom single-family homes averaging around $4,000 a month, with four-plus-bedroom homes approaching the $5,000 mark, pricing that reflects Greenlawn's inventory of larger family homes rather than apartment towers.

On the smaller end, recent listings tell a consistent story: a renovated two-bedroom, one-bath apartment on Broadway listed at $2,800, while a similarly sized two-bedroom, two-bath unit nearby listed at $3,100. Larger single-family rentals, including a five-bedroom home on Railroad Street, have listed as high as $4,625, and a three-bedroom on Grafton Street listed near $3,975.

Census-based data reported by RentCafe shows that only about 16% of Greenlawn's housing stock is rented, versus 84% owner-occupied, one of the more ownership-heavy splits among the four towns, with most rental buildings averaging 47 years old and none built after 2000. That aging, low-turnover inventory is part of why available units get snapped up quickly.

Takeaway: Greenlawn functions less like a traditional apartment market and more like a small pool of single-family rentals, which keeps competition, and prices, high whenever a home does hit the market.

Kings Park, NY 11754

Kings Park offers some of the more moderate pricing on the North Shore, though "moderate" is relative. Rentometer places one-bedroom apartments around $2,400–$2,500 and two-bedrooms between $2,900 and $3,400. Trulia's monthly rent tracker for the 11754 ZIP code shows the average rent across all home types hitting $3,298 as of May 2026, up sharply from lows earlier in the year, with two-bedroom apartments and condos averaging $2,500 and larger four-bedroom homes averaging around $4,100.

HUD's 2026 Fair Market Rent figures, the federal benchmark used for Section 8 housing vouchers, set Kings Park's rates at $1,992 for a studio, $2,379 for a one-bedroom, $2,747 for a two-bedroom, $3,563 for a three-bedroom, and $3,768 for a four-bedroom. Notably, affordablehousingonline.com reports Kings Park's rental vacancy rate at effectively zero, meaning almost no units sit empty, a textbook sign of a landlord-favorable market.

New, professionally managed inventory is scarce but pricey: Fairfield at Kings Park on Indian Head Road lists one-bedrooms from roughly $3,005 to $3,445, while a recently listed two-bedroom, two-bath condo on Lakebridge Drive South rented for $4,200. RentCafe reports that just 14% of Kings Park's housing is rented, with the remaining 86% owner-occupied, and that typical rental buildings are around 37 years old with no high-rises in the community.

Takeaway: Kings Park's near-zero vacancy rate is the clearest local evidence of a tightening, landlord-friendly market, when something becomes available, it doesn't stay on the market long.

What This Means for Renters, Landlords, and Investors

For renters: Budget for competition. With vacancy rates this low across Huntington Township, especially in Kings Park and Greenlawn, well-priced units are moving fast, and it's increasingly common to see multiple applications on a single listing. Renters with flexibility on move-in timing or willingness to consider smaller or older buildings will have an easier time than those targeting new construction.

For landlords: These four markets currently favor sellers of rental services. Limited new supply, aging housing stock, and steady LIRR-commuter demand mean well-maintained units in good school districts (Harborfields, Northport-East Northport, Commack, and Kings Park school districts all overlap these ZIP codes) can generally expect strong renewal rates and limited downward pressure on rent.

For investors: The North Shore's built-out geography is both the opportunity and the constraint. There's little room for large new multifamily development, which protects existing landlords from oversupply, but it also means buy-and-hold investors need to compete for a limited number of two- to four-unit properties and single-family rentals rather than counting on new construction to expand their options.

Final Thoughts

The North Shore's rental market, from Huntington Village's harbor-view apartments to Kings Park's near-empty vacancy pipeline, reflects the same landlord-favorable conditions playing out across much of the Northeast: limited new supply, resilient demand, and renters absorbing higher costs because there simply aren't enough alternatives. For anyone weighing whether to rent, list, or invest in Huntington, Northport, Greenlawn, or Kings Park in the second half of 2026, the numbers point in one direction: this remains a market where landlords, not tenants, are holding the leverage.

Rental figures and vacancy data cited above reflect publicly available listings and market reports as of mid-2026 and can shift with seasonal inventory changes. Prospective renters and landlords should verify current pricing directly with local property managers or a licensed Long Island real estate agent.

Sources

• RentHop, "Average Rent in Huntington, NY" , renthop.com
• Zumper, "Apartments for Rent in Huntington, NY" and "Rent Research: Huntington, NY" , zumper.com
• Zillow, "11743, NY Housing Market" and Huntington/Kings Park rental listings , zillow.com
• Redfin, "Huntington Housing Market" and ZIP code rental listing pages (11743, 11746, 11754, 11740) , redfin.com
• Trulia, rental market trend pages for Northport, NY and 11754 ZIP code , trulia.com
• Rentometer, "Average Rent in Northport, NY," "Average Rent in Greenlawn, NY," and "Average Rent in Kings Park, NY" , rentometer.com
• RentCafe, market trend and apartment listing pages for Northport, East Northport, and Kings Park, NY , rentcafe.com
• AffordableHousingOnline.com, "Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing in Kings Park, NY" (HUD Fair Market Rent data) , affordablehousingonline.com
• Cushman & Wakefield / TenantBase, Long Island commercial real estate market reports, Q1–Q2 2026 , cushmanwakefield.com, tenantbase.com

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