In 1947 my family bought a narrow and decaying late 19th C house at 57 12th Ave. from Roy Hendrickson for $4,000, which he financed.  In '57 my mother sold it for $11,000.  On it's 50 ft by 100 ft lot, with the scenic parking lot in front of it, today it may be worth a half million.  Newsday recently published prices of Sea Cliff homes.  The village seems to have forgotten that housing has crashed in America.  Examples:

81 12th Ave sold for $725,000 in November on an 80 x 120 lot.  

15 Cromwell Place sold after 22 days on the market.  The 6 rm cottage brought $375,000, just $14,000 below the asking price.

70 Ransom Ave. was on the market over a year, but the owners took $1,075,000 instead of the asking price of $1.3 million.  

The cheapest house Newsday found was being offered at $239,000, the most expensive at $2 million.  

The median home price of houses sold in the past 6 months was $636,250.

How can people afford these homes?  The median income is $104,101 per household.

(Thanks to Eleanor Millwater of Glen Head for sending the article with the real estate data)