Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Popular Parts of Brooklyn Getting Pricier as Fewer Homes Go Up for Sale

By Amy Zimmer | May 31, 2017 9:51am
 Park Slope brownstones.
Park Slope brownstones.
View Full Caption
Flickr/Matthew Rutledge

BROOKLYN — For those hoping to buy a home in hot neighborhoods like Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens or Prospect Heights, they're going to need a lot of luck.

Popular areas of "Northwest Brooklyn" including DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, Gowanus, Red Hook, Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn and Clinton Hill, as well as the Prospect Park area including Park Slope, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and Kensington, saw 24 percent fewer homes up for sale in April compared to the same time a year ago, according to a report released Wednesday from StreetEasy.

The largest dips were in Prospect Heights (nearly 50 percent), Boerum Hill (46 percent) and DUMBO (38 percent).

These neighborhoods saw a significantly bigger dip in available homes for sale overall than in Brooklyn and Manhattan — where the number of homes fell 10 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

"A mixture of desirability and affordability relative to many parts of Manhattan have made these areas some of the city’s most competitive," said StreetEasy’s senior economist, Grant Long. "Growth in supply has struggled to keep up with demand in this slice of Brooklyn, where a large share of recent construction has focused on the rental market, though these dynamics could change with a few of the upcoming condo projects in Downtown Brooklyn."

With the limited inventory, prices in this part of Brooklyn — which are among the highest in the borough — have been on the rise. 

The median price in Northwest Brooklyn rose 2.6 percent to $858,230, while the median price in the Prospect Park area jumped more than 4 percent to $801,514.

Prices grew more, however, in more affordable areas like South Brooklyn, where the median price jumped 9 percent to $441,570.

According to the report, which only looked at re-sales and excluded new developments, Brooklyn as a whole saw prices reach a record high — rising more than 6 percent from the same time the previous year, to $584,121, according to StreetEasy.

Manhattan’s median price also hit a record high, rising more than 1 percent to $993,592.

While sales prices have been increasing, however, rents in both boroughs have been falling, the report found.

The median rent price decreased more than 1 percent from the year prior to $3,232 a month — and has been steadily falling since the fall.

In Brooklyn, rents fell for the eighth straight month, dipping nearly 4 percent o $2,785 a month.

Areas with large numbers of new units, like Downtown Brooklyn and the Financial District, will continue to see landlords offering concessions like a month’s free rent, even in the face of increased demand, Long predicted.

“For renters, this summer will be one of the most favorable shopping environments that we’ve seen in years,” he said.