Buying in Blue Point

Once a popular tourist destination, Blue Point today is considered "one of the best-kept secrets," says Dawn Huffman of Bayport. "The main calling cards are beaching and boating," says former resident Tom Ruddy, owner of Saltbox Realty in Bayport.

This small bayfront hamlet, Ruddy adds, is steeped in history. During the American Revolution, Blue Point served as a strategic seaport held by the British. Later, the community gained attention for its oysters, harvested in the Great South Bay. It's been said that Blue Point oysters were Queen Victoria's favorite. And in the early 1900s, the community became a summer playground for New York City residents, Ruddy says.

Today, the community is just as scenic and homey with local hangouts. "You have Cavanaugh's, which is like Cheers, where everybody knows your name," says Huffman, an agent at Eric G. Ramsay Jr. Associates in Bay Shore.

Buyers can find mostly Capes, ranches and older Colonials, most priced from the $300,000s to the $900,000s, with bayfront and canal-front homes commanding the higher prices.

Area: 1.8 square miles

ZIP code: 11715

Population: 4,773

Median age: 40.4

Median household income: $90,393

Median sale price: $312,000

Monthly ticket: $334

School district: Bayport-Blue Point