NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A near-record
number of Brooklyn homes went into
contract in August, even as pending sales in Manhattan and Queens continued to fall amid a market
slowdown.
Pending sales in Brooklyn
increased 38.7% from last year, with 735 homes going into contract
— 205 more than last year. The only time pending sales were higher
in the borough was in March 2019,
when 748 homes entered contract.
Brooklyn was the clear outlier
of all boroughs analyzed. In Manhattan and Queens, the number of homes that went into
contract fell by 6.0% and 4.3%, respectively. Still, the surge in
Brooklyn sales shows that New
Yorkers continue to be interested in buying homes, and that some
market segments remain highly competitive.
Pending sales in Brooklyn
increased across nearly all five price tiers:
- Pending sales in Brooklyn's
lowest tier, where the median price is $253,000, increased by 100% over 2019.
- Pending sales of homes in the second-highest tier, with a
median price of $999,614, rose 65%
over last year.
- The only tier that did not see much change was the uppermost or
luxury tier, with a median of $1,613,856, where pending sales fell 0.7%.
The increase in Brooklyn sales
activity was not driven solely by homes at one price point or
location. Sales increased in more affordable neighborhoods like Bay
Ridge and Flatbush, as well as in pricier areas like Downtown Brooklyn and Prospect Park.
In fact, the Prospect Parki submarket saw the largest
year-over-year increase in pending sales in the entire city. In
August, 111 homes there went into contract, more than double (117%)
what the submarket saw last year. Prices also rose in Prospect Park
— up 3.0% to $1,295,000, in the
largest year-over-year jump in the borough.
"The striking surge in new deals in Brooklyn is the one of the first optimistic
indicators for the city's sales market, and suggests that contrary
to popular belief, many are making the commitment to live in the
city for the long term," says StreetEasy
Economist Nancy Wu.
"Manhattan has been much slower
to bounce back — which indicates that buyers looking to take
advantage of the low mortgage rates and stay in the city are
prioritizing space and affordability over living close to their
offices," Wu says. "All else equal, Brooklyn homes provide more bang for a
homebuyer's buck than Manhattan."
See below for additional market trends across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.
Manhattan Had the Most Inventory in Over a Decade
Total sales inventory in Manhattan rose 24% over last year, with 10,639
homes on the market — the highest number in more than a decade.
While supply increased, prices dropped, and so did the number of
homes that went into contract.
The StreetEasy Manhattan Price Indexii fell 4.5% to
$1,395,000, its lowest level since
July 2014. Even with prices dropping,
the number of homes entering contract was still down 6.0% from last
year.
Brooklyn Prices Stayed Flat as Inventory Rose
The StreetEasy Brooklyn Price Index stayed flat compared to last
year at $956,900. Prices did drop in
North Brooklyniii, the
borough's most expensive submarket, by 3.9% to $1,410,000.
Sales inventory in the borough was at near-record high levels
with 5,830 homes on the market — an increase of 6.6% compared to
last year. Inventory had not been as high since October 2019.
Prices Rose in Queens' Most Expensive Areas
Prices rose in Northwestiv and Northeastv
Queens, the borough's two most
expensive submarkets, by 3.5% and 3.4% respectively. However, the
StreetEasy Queens Price Index remained flat at $660,000.
Sales inventory continued to linger in these expensive areas, —
particularly in Northwest Queens,
where inventory was up 24.7% year-over-year, to a record high of
601 available homes. The number of homes that entered contract
ticked up from the lows seen earlier this spring, but was still
down 4.3% compared to last year.
View all StreetEasy Market Reports for Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, with additional neighborhood data and
graphics. Definitions of StreetEasy's metrics and monthly data from
each report can be explored and downloaded via the StreetEasy
Data Dashboard.
About StreetEasy
StreetEasy is reimagining the way people buy, sell, and rent
homes in New York City and
New Jersey. Used more than any
other local real estate platform, StreetEasy's website and mobile
apps provide vetted and verified listings, plus intuitive search
tools and data-driven guides to help people unlock the opportunity
of living here. Consumers and real estate professionals can stay
up-to-date on the latest real estate trends
through StreetEasy's Market Reports and explore and download
market data for free on the StreetEasy Data Dashboard.
Launched in 2006 and based in NoMad, Manhattan, StreetEasy is owned and operated by
Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) and is a registered trademark of
Zillow, Inc.
i The Prospect Park submarket includes Park
Slope, Prospect Heights, Prospect
Lefferts Gardens, Prospect Park South and Windsor Terrace.
ii The StreetEasy Price Indices track changes in
resale prices of condo, co-op, and townhouse units. Each index uses
a repeat-sales method of comparing the sales prices of the same
properties since January 1995 in
Manhattan and January 2007 in Brooklyn and Queens. Given this methodology, each index
accurately captures the change in home prices by controlling for
the varying composition of homes sold in a given month. Levels of
the StreetEasy Price Indices reflect average values of homes on the
market. Data on the sale of homes is sourced from the New York City
Department of Finance. Full methodology here.
iii The North Brooklyn submarket includes
Greenpoint and Williamsburg.
iv The Northwest Queens submarket includes
Astoria, Long Island City and Sunnyside.
v The Northeast Queens submarket includes
Auburndale, Bayside, Bellerose, Flushing, Kew
Gardens, Little Neck and
Whitestone.
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SOURCE StreetEasy