Brooklyn real estate prices soar in final quarter of 2016

January 13, 2017 Patrick Weinberg

Shutterstock/ImageFlow

Share this:

Potential home buyers will need to shell out more cash if they want the experience of living in a Brooklyn neighborhood. Brooklyn real estate prices continued to reach new heights in the final quarter of 2016, according to Halstead’s Fourth Quarter 2016 Brooklyn Market Report.

The report, released Thursday, January 12, shows the median apartment price rose 16 percent in the last year to $645,000, while the average price for an apartment reached a new record of $834,944 in the last quarter. Prices rose faster for condos than co-ops, particularly in South Brooklyn, with the average price per square foot up to $437, an 11 percent jump from a year ago.

Diane Ramirez, chairperson and CEO of Halstead Property, said, “Both the average and median apartment prices for all sales in Brooklyn were higher in every market area in our report than a year ago.”

Ramirez also noted that the development of new high-end properties has contributed to the rising prices, and accounted for 31 percent of all Brooklyn apartment closings. These new developments have apartments averaging at a price tag of $1.2 million, which is a 46 percent increase. Inventory levels are also critically low, especially in areas such as Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope, which have caused prices to go up in not only those neighborhoods, but throughout Brooklyn.

Sarah Burke, managing director of Brooklyn New Development for Douglas Elliman Property Management, says, “Buyers looking for condos under $2 million in those categories [three and four bedrooms especially] to start to explore areas such as South Slope, Greenwood Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Garden, and Kensington, and buy to take advantage of still low interest rates. “

Although inventory has lessened, the future seems bright according to Trish Martin, Halstead’s managing director of Brooklyn Sales. “New development closings were a key driver of record prices in the fourth quarter, and looking toward the spring we anticipate a strong Brooklyn market across the board and in all areas in the borough,” she said.