While the city’s other boroughs have yet to catch up, Brooklyn has beaten its previous median sales price record by 25%
The median sale price of a Brooklyn home hit an all-time high during the third quarter of 2015, coming in at $676,250, or 15% higher than the same time a year ago, according to a market report released Thursday. The results reinforce just how much Brooklyn has gown into a desirable place to live—its recovery from the Great Recession has far outpaced other boroughs.
Brooklyn is the only borough whose median sale price has surpassed a previous high set before the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers. In fact, its growth has dwarfed other areas of the city. Case in point, while the median sale prices in Manhattan and Queens this quarter—$998,000 and $450,865, respectively—were still a few percentage points below their zeniths set in 2007. Brooklyn has exceeded the previous record by 25%.
“That’s not solely price appreciation and limited supply and demand—it’s a change of identity,” said Jonathan Miller, head of appraisal firm Miller Samuel, which prepared the report for Douglas Elliman, referring to Brooklyn.
Exactly how that identity, a sort of cultural patina that has attached itself to the borough, has evolved is complicated. But it is clear that a new crop of buyer is seeing Brooklyn not as an alternative to pricey Manhattan, as in years’ past, but as a first choice.
Developers are also paying more attention to Kings County. But while additions to the housing stock have kept inventory relatively stable and above historic lows—the number of apartments for sale was down 13% from the third quarter of last year—it was not enough to slake demand. In fact, the average amount of time an apartment sat on the market was 55 days, down 40% from last year, signaling the market’s quick pace and that upward pressure on prices will likely continue.
The median price this quarter was 15% higher than a year ago and whether such a growth rate is sustainable in the long run is highly questionable. “Are wages growing that fast?” Mr. Miller asked. “I’d say no.”