Brooklyn Luxury Contracts Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels

The number of contracts inked last week in Brooklyn’s luxury market surged to levels not seen since before the pandemic began.

In all, 27 homes that went into contract for a total volume of $89 million, according to Compass’ weekly report on contracts signed for $2 million or more. That’s a significant increase from the prior week, when 11 deals were inked.

The median asking price was $2.88 million with an average discount of 2 percent across the transactions. Six condo units went into contract, while the remaining 21 deals were for townhouses. Together, the average time of the market for the listings was 136 days.

When the pandemic shut down New York City’s real estate market in March, deals in Brooklyn’s luxury market sharply declined. The last time there were more than 20 contracts in one week was in early March when 21 deals were inked for a total value of $62.8 million.

The most expensive home was a Cobble Hill townhouse at 19 Strong Place last asking $6.5 million. The more than 6,000-square-foot home has eight bedrooms and four bathrooms, along with with a wood-burning fireplace and backyard garden.

The second priciest was another Cobble Hill townhouse at 161 Warren Street. The 25-foot wide home has a chef’s kitchen, two homes offices and a multi-tiered rear garden. Spanning 4,800 square feet, the five-bedroom home’s final asking price was slightly less than the Strong Place house.

Townhouses have been dominating Brooklyn’s luxury market activity as demand for outdoor space and larger homes, in addition to lower price-per-square-foot for single-family homes, continues to drive buyer activity across the city.

Of the 21 townhomes that went into contract last week, the average price per square foot was $1,047 compared to an average of $1,375 per square foot for the condominium units.

The average square footage of the condos was just over 2,000 square feet, compared to the average townhouse’s 3,555 square feet.