Environmentally minded people, she added, are particularly drawn by the Suffolk County Marine Environmental Learning Center of the Cornell Cooperative Extension, which is working to regenerate the local oyster beds and scallop population, and offers educational programs and volunteer opportunities.

Image 215 GARDEN COURT | A four-bedroom, three-bathroom Dutch colonial house with a pool and private garden, built in 1982 on 0.6 acres, listed for $799,000. 917-803-1915 Credit... Tara Striano for The New York Times

What You’ll Pay

Sales have increased steadily in recent years on the North Fork, and in Southold, 36 homes were sold in the first quarter of 2019, up from 27 during the same period in 2018. The median sale price was $602,000 in the first quarter of the year, down 2 percent from the same period in 2018, according to statistics compiled by Corcoran. And there is a premium for water views: A 1,500-square-foot house with beach access on the Sound is currently on the market for more than $1.6 million.

In late June, the real estate website Trulia had a total of 93 homes listed for sale in Southold, from a seasonal cottage on one acre priced at $399,000 to a six-bedroom waterfront property with a dock for $3.25 million.

“If you’re looking for property on the direct bay or sound waterfront, in good condition, competition is fierce,” Ms. Conant said. “A pool makes it even harder. Buyers are coming in at or above asking prices and with all cash.”

If a buyer’s needs are more modest, “you’ll find much more inventory,” she said. “Price points are well under a million — more like $700,000, $800,000 — with a beach you can walk or bike to, some even with a pool.”

Ms. Conant gave an example of what she called the current “torrid” buying climate: A 1930s house in need of updating on three-quarters of an acre, on the bay with a waterside pool, was in contract 19 days after it was listed — for $2 million, all cash.