Brooklyn’s second quarter saw the highest number of closed sales on record, as eager buyers continued to flock to the borough seeking space and value.
“The Brooklyn real estate market continues to exceed expectations with sales activity roaring back just 12 months after last year’s market pause. Not only did the second quarter see the highest number of closed sales on record – up 16% over last quarter – contract activity exceeded last year by 32%, beating out every quarter since 2Q 2015.
As savvy buyers continue to look across the East River for more space, they’re also taking advantage of still-low interest rates to lock in larger homes – prompting the strongest quarter on record for sales over $1M. This powerful second quarter capped a truly record-setting first half of 2021 and it’s starting to look like Brooklyn’s rebound is here to stay.”
— Michael Sorrentino, Senior Vice President, General Sales Manager of New York, The Corcoran Group
Key Points
Brooklyn showed some hustle in Q1, as buyers charged the borough on a quest for space and value.
- Just one year following the stay-at-home order, sales activity and prices came roaring back, supported by low interest rates, stable supply levels and consumer confidence.
- While the comparison to last year’s market pause exaggerates many year-over-year statistics, the impressive quarterly comparisons provide continued optimism that Brooklyn’s rebound is here to stay.
- Approximately 2,140 apartments sold during 2Q, a substantial 129% increase versus last year’s market pause and up 16% from last quarter.
- The number of contracts signed climbed to nearly 1,850, a more than 400% increase versus a year ago and a 32% leap from 1Q.
Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, DUMBO and Downtown saw the most activity with sales surging over 300% annually, the largest year-over-year gain in the borough.
- Throughout these four neighborhoods, all product types experienced robust activity levels.
- Overall median price surged 41% year-over-year driven by the expanding share of new development sales.
With buyers shifting into larger, pricier homes – prices soared to record highs.
- At 34% of sales, no other quarter had a larger share of sales $1M than 2Q 2021.
- Median price was $825,000, setting a new high, while the average price was $982,000, exceeding the previous record set back in early 2017 by 3%.
- A shift in sales towards the high end, particularly in new developments, drove the overall average sale price higher.
This high volume of sales prompted inventory to fall 18% quarter-over-quarter.
- A year ago, the market pause drove a sharp drop in inventory, which exaggerated the year-over-year gain of 37%.
- Some neighborhoods are quite inventory starved – Park Slope and Gowanus, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Prospect Heights, all saw declines in inventory compared to both last quarter and last year.
- With buyers trading up for more space, due to the smaller capture of studio sales, inventory of this unit type piled up to a total that was nearly 80% greater than last year.
About Our Photo
