4Q Brooklyn Market Report

The Brooklyn housing market showed improved stability with a more normal mix of sales and the return of more typical seasonal patterns.

At the end of 2010, the median sales price of Brooklyn residential property rose 6.2% over the prior year, average days on the market dropped from 163 days to 119, and the listing discount dropped from 6% to 5.6%. However, listing inventory rose by 14% over 4Q 2009 and sales were down 29.9% over the previous year.

The decrease in sales for the second half of 2010 is attributed to the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit, which front-loaded sales in 2010.

Brooklyn Condos

Condo sales gained market share in Brooklyn this past year, accounting for 32.6% of all borough sales, up from 29.3% is 2009. Although sales as a whole fell sharply, median sales prices increased 9.8% over the prior year, from $468,975 to $515,00, attributable to the increased activity of higher-priced units.

Brooklyn Co-Ops

Co-Op sales dropped a shocking 45% over the previous year’s quarter, which was the highest water mark in recent years due to the federal tax credit program. In contrast, days on the market were cut by more than half, from 165 to 80. The median sales price was up 17.1% from last year, from $269,000 to $315,000.

Brooklyn 1-3 Family

Median prices for this market actually dropped 1% from last year, from $525,000 to $520,000, and sales dropped by 27% from their 4Q 2009 two-year high of 980 sales. While days on the market dropped from 141 days to 119 days from the previous year, the difference between listing and contract prices remained pretty much unchanged at 7.2%.

Brooklyn Luxury

High-end sales increased in Brooklyn for 4Q 2010, similar to Manhattan. The average sales price increased by more than $400,000 and days on the market fell by two months.

Brooklyn Brownstones

Consistent with the trend of higher-end property accounting for 4Q sales, the sales of Brooklyn Brownstones increased by 30.6% over the previous year.

Brooklyn North

The area covering the Greenpoint, Navy Yard and Williamsburg neighborhoods was the only region to show an increase in sales. Median prices slipped 5% over last year, but bounced back 6.2% over the previous quarter. The average sales price, however, rose by 8.1% over 2009. Sales were Brooklyn North’s forte, though, rising 21.1% over last year’s sales.

Brooklyn Northwest

The area covering “Brownstone Brooklyn”, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, Clinton Hill, Cobble Hill, Fulton Ferry, Fulton Mall, Metrotech, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Park Slope, Prospect Heights and Red Hook benefited from the increase in sales of high-end properties. While the number of properties sold dropped by 6.4% from the previous year, average and median sales prices rose by 18.7% and 12.8%, respectively.

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