Brooklyn Housing Market Still Strong, Continues to Set Records

Brooklyn’s housing market is still looking strong, with median sales price at a new high and the market at its strongest since the financial crisis in 2008, first-quarter sales market reports reveal.

Prices are continuing to trend up, according to a 2017 first-quarter Brooklyn sales report from Douglas Elliman. The market has also hit its fastest pace in nine years.

Brooklyn’s success isn’t unique nationally, however, according to Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel, which prepared the Elliman report.

“In many ways the Brooklyn housing market is mirroring the national market – rising prices, rising sales and a shortage of inventory. A strong regional economy, a release of pent-up demand from before the national election, concern about rising mortgage rates all played a role in the robust conditions,” said Miller.

Compared to a year ago, median sales prices are up 16.2 percent in the first quarter of 2017 to $770,000, a new record. Average sales prices also set a new record high of $993,955, up 25 percent from the year before. The number of overall sales in the same period jumped 46.2 percent, for a total of 2,800 sales.

Inventory was the only major data point in the study that fell compared to the previous year — it fell by 19.9 percent. Average time for a listing on the market increased to 97 days, up 27 days from the year before.

Douglas Elliman’s study also showed an interesting highlight about townhouses: Average price per square foot for one- to three-family homes is up 5.1 percent over the previous year across the borough, to $448, but the average price per square foot for one- to three-family homes in northwest Brooklyn, a category the study categorizes as “brownstones,” has dropped 13.1 percent over the last year, to $1,013..

When it comes to the luxury market — the top 10 percent of sales across the market — numbers were up in a huge way, providing evidence of the increase of luxury housing offerings across the borough. The median luxury sales price jumped 37.2 percent, $2,545,625. Condos also were on the rise as a part of the market share, with new development condos making up 35.1 percent of the market — up from 15.8 percent.

A report from Corcoran highlighted the role of new development in the Q1 sales. Closed sales in new developments in the first quarter increased 82 percent across the borough as compared to the same time period in 2016. Additionally, in new developments, market prices rose 85 percent from the first quarter of 2016 to 2017.

A third report from Stribling highlighted the new record for average price per square foot in the borough, which now sits at $1,042 per square foot, up from $756 the year before.

The first quarter also brought some notable sales record of individual properties, as we noted at the time: 1 Verona Place in Bed Stuy sold for $3.3 million , which broke the previous neighborhood sales record of $3.3 million, and 1 Main Street’s Clock Tower penthouse also broke a record for Brooklyn condo sales after selling for $15 million.

About a year and a half ago, there was speculation that the market in Brooklyn would dip — these facts and figures indicate that has not yet come to pass.

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