Brooklyn dominates the top 10 NYC neighborhoods for sellers
- Eight of the top nabes for sellers are in Brooklyn as per a new StreetEasy ranking
- Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, and Boerum Hill make the top of the list
- In Carroll Gardens, 50 percent of sales in the last quarter went above asking
Carroll Gardens, the number one market for sellers, was also the most expensive neighborhood on the list with the median asking price at $2,350,000.
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Sellers in Brooklyn will be encouraged—but perhaps not surprised—to hear they have the advantage when it comes to getting to the closing table right now. Bidding wars are not new to Brooklyn but they reached new records in the fourth quarter and fresh data from StreetEasy shows which neighborhoods are driving up the numbers.
Of the top 10 neighborhoods for sellers right now, eight are in Brooklyn, with Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, and Boerum Hill ranking as the best places to be a seller. In Carroll Gardens, 50 percent of sales in the last quarter went above asking. That’s compared to the city wide average of 17 percent.
The Queen’s neighborhoods of Sunnyside and Elmhurst also rank in the top 10 neighborhoods where 31 percent and 27 percent of sales respectively went above the asking price. No Manhattan neighborhoods make the list.
Brownstone Brooklyn drives the bidding war trend
Carroll Gardens, the number one market for sellers, was also the most expensive neighborhood on the list with the median asking price at $2,350,000. Park Slope saw 38 percent of sales go above asking and in Boerum Hill, 33 percent of sales went to bidding wars.
The popularity of these top three neighborhoods is no secret. They are typically seen as family friendly and characterized by an inventory that includes traditional brownstone buildings. StreetEasy economist Kenny Lee says it shows buyers with larger budgets, who tend to be less affected by mortgage rates, are still in the market and competing for limited inventory.
“The impact of the recent jump in mortgage rates really affected households with moderate incomes compared to these high earners that can stay in the market with close to 6.5 percent mortgage rates,” he says.
This also benefits sellers in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn Heights, and Prospect Heights where the median asking price is above $1 million and the market share of bidding wars in the last quarter was between 28 and 30 percent. The average of median asking prices in the eight neighborhoods in Brooklyn where bidding wars are highest is $1,473,000. This is above the median of $980,000 reported by StreetEasy for the borough in the last quarter.
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Buyers are willing to pay above asking for affordability
Pricey neighborhoods aren't exclusively driving the number of bidding wars. In the last quarter, many buyers were still willing to pay over asking in more affordable neighborhoods.
The Brooklyn neighborhoods of East Flatbush and Carnarsie, where the median asking price in the last quarter was below $1 million, were also characterized by a higher than average percentage of properties closing above asking. Lee says it’s a sign New Yorkers are still prioritizing affordability as well as convenient access to Manhattan. "New Yorkers who can stay in the market are willing to pay up a little to secure something that fits within their budget," he says.
East Flatbush recently ranked seventh on a StreetEasy list of neighborhoods to watch in 2023. Neighborhoods in Queens dominated this list, among them were Elmhurst and Sunnyside, which both saw an above-average market share of bidding wars.
“Sunnyside is a good example of New Yorkers striking the middle ground between affordability and easy commute to office districts in Manhattan,” Lee says.
