Soaring prices do little to slow Brooklyn sales

Average sales price in Q2 hits $788,529 – a new record

Brooklynpricechart
Brooklyn's median and average prices are rising (Credit: Miller Samuel)

Despite record-high prices, Brooklyn real estate flew off the shelves during the second quarter and the average marketing time for residential properties plummeted, according to a new report.

The average marketing time for co-ops, condos and townhouses was 73 days – down 33 percent year-over-year – and the quickest on record since 2008, according to Douglas Elliman, which published the report.

“It’s moving fast because inventory is inadequate, and that’s creating price pressure,” said Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the Elliman report. Inventory increased by a whopping 38.6 percent to 4,269, but Miller said that figure is still too low.

Overall, the average sales price in Brooklyn inched up 0.7 percent to a record $788,529, according to the report. (By comparison, Manhattan’s average sales price shattered records during the same period by topping $1.87 million, up 11.4 percent.)

Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s median sales price rose for the eleventh straight quarter to $605,000 – up 5.2 percent year-over-year. The median price in the luxury market fell 5.3 percent to $2.02 million.

Of the overall price increases, Miller said: “This is not about skew from high-end new developments. It is across the market.”

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In brownstone Brooklyn — an area that includes Park Slope, Clinton Hill and Forte Greene — the median price was a record $910,000, according to the report. The median price for a Brooklyn townhouse jumped 38.8 percent to $2.6 million.

Like Manhattan, the number of Brooklyn sales during the second quarter dropped to 1,735, a 16.8 percent drop, thanks to low inventory.

The Corcoran Group, in its own report published today, said the number of contracts signed – 930 – was flat during the second quarter. “A larger portion of inventory is new developments in pre-sales, and closings may not occur for several more quarters, and in some cases, years,” the report stated.

According to Corcoran’s report, 268 new development units hit the market, up 23 percent year-over-year.

In Queens, both the price and volume of sales increased during the second quarter. Sales increased 5.6 percent to 2,539, with the median price hitting $385,001, up 8.5 percent year-over-year, according to the Elliman report. The median price for luxury property increased 5.4 percent to $985,875.

“The rise in prices is not a new development story,” Miller said. “People are searching for affordability and Queens is benefiting.”