Brooklyn's median sales price finally got unstuck in the fourth quarter
- After being frozen at $950,000 since late 2022, Brooklyn’s median price dips to $900,000
- Queens listings hit a new low as nearly one in five deals involves a bidding war
The drop in Brooklyn's median sales price doesn’t seem to indicate a trend, says Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel.
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Brooklyn's median sales price was stuck for a long time, but it finally budged.
It was frozen at $950,000 for four quarters starting with the third quarter of 2022. That all changed in the fourth quarter of 2023, when the median sales price slipped to a $900,000, according to the latest edition of the Elliman Report.
Still, the drop doesn’t seem to indicate a trend, according to Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the report. He characterizes prices in the Brooklyn market as “remarkably flat”—remarkable because listings are significantly below pre-pandemic levels and one in five transactions involves a bidding war, indicating strong demand that quickly soaks up new listings.
“We’re not expecting inventory to flood the market. We will probably see more listings in 2024 because of lower mortgage rates,” which will encourage sellers to enter the market,” he says. In fact, he predicts prices to remain stable or rise in coming year.
“The most important thing about the Fed pivot [to interest rate cuts this year] is the idea that rates will be lower in a year or two. That gets people off the couch and into the market incrementally,” he says.
Transactions in Brooklyn declined for the sixth, consecutive quarter, dropping 18 percent from the prior year, as listings fell for the seventh, consecutive quarter, dropping 14.9 percent.
Brooklyn buyers branch out
Hemmed in by a lack of inventory and high mortgage rates, Brooklyn buyers branched out in search of affordability during the fourth quarter, says Michael Sorrentino, senior vice president, general sales manager, NY at Corcoran, which also released a Brooklyn sales market report.
“Those ready to purchase a home in Brooklyn turned to resale co-ops and locations farther east and south, resulting in a decline in median price and average price per square foot,” Sorrentino says.
Compass also released a Brooklyn sales market report, and Elizabeth Ann Stribling-Kivlan, Compass’s senior managing director and author of the report, notes that 55.5 percent of inventory was in South Brooklyn and was predominantly houses, followed by 18.9 percent in Northwest Brooklyn.
Just like the national market
Brown Harris Stevens also released market reports for Brooklyn, Queens, and Riverdale, which notes that Brooklyn’s market was battered again by high mortgage rates.
“Housing sales across the U.S. declined sharply in the fourth quarter of 2023, and Brooklyn was no exception…A surge in mortgage rates that led to a 23-year high in mid-October certainly contributed to the reduction in sales,” Bess Freedman, CEO at BHS, says in the report.
Higher average price for luxury deals
SERHANT released market reports for Brooklyn, Brooklyn new development, and Long Island City for the fourth quarter.
Coury Napier, SERHANT’s director of research, points out that the average price for luxury properties in Brooklyn was up sharply.
“The average price of sales at $3 million and above increased by 13.9 percent to $4,932,299. There were multiple townhouse sales and high-end new development closings that pushed the average price in the luxury market higher,” Napier note.
Queens median sales price drops again
In Queens, listings reached a nearly three-year low as bidding wars accounted for nearly one in five deals, the Elliman Report says. The median sales price, $675,000, declined year over year for the fifth, straight quarter—reflecting a drop of 2.5 percent.
Transactions in Queens were down year over year by 5.3 percent—making this the sixth, annual decline.
Riverdale sales increase for the sixth time
In the Riverdale market, which includes Hudson Hill, North Riverdale, and Spuyten Duyvil in the Bronx, transactions rose annually for the first time in six quarters, despite a decline in listings, according to the Elliman Report. Sales were up 15.3 percent year over year, the sixth time there’s been an increase, while listings were down 7.1 percent for the year.
The median sales price, $300,000, represented a 15.5 drop from the fourth quarter of 2023.
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