Staten Island is the last borough where a normal budget still buys a real house. Here is what your money actually gets you in 2026, neighborhood by neighborhood, plus the first-time buyer angles most people miss.
The median single-family home on Staten Island sits in the low-to-mid 700s in 2026. Prices climb as you move from the North Shore toward the South Shore and Todt Hill, and they drop as you trade a detached house for an attached home, a condo, or a co-op. The good news: unlike Brooklyn or Queens, almost every price band here still has actual houses in it.
This is condo, co-op, and attached-home territory, concentrated on the North Shore in St. George, Stapleton, Tompkinsville, and Port Richmond. You give up size and a private yard, but you get in the door in New York City for a number that does not exist in most of Brooklyn. Watch the monthly maintenance or common charges, since they change what you can truly afford.
Here you find attached and semi-attached single-family homes and smaller detached houses across mid-Island neighborhoods like New Springville, Castleton Corners, and the edges of Great Kills and Eltingville. This is the sweet spot for a lot of first-time buyers who want a house rather than an apartment and can handle a little updating.
Now you are into detached single-family homes on the South Shore, in Annadale, Eltingville, Arden Heights, and Great Kills, often with a driveway, a garage, and a yard. This band also opens up 2-family houses in good condition, which is where the house-hacking strategy gets interesting.
Above 900,000 you are looking at larger and newer detached homes, prime South Shore blocks, and the entry point to the Island's premium addresses. Todt Hill, the highest and most exclusive area, along with waterfront and custom-built homes, is where the top of the market lives, running past 1.2 million and well beyond.
Two things change the math more than anything else. First, down payment assistance: programs like NYC HomeFirst and SONYMA can put a large chunk toward your down payment and closing costs if you meet the income and first-time rules, so you may need far less cash than you think. Second, house hacking: buying a 2-family home and renting the second unit lets the tenant help pay your mortgage. Staten Island has plenty of 2-family stock, which is exactly why so many first-time buyers here start with one.
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