Manhattan vs Brooklyn – The Prices (Q3 2016)

Curious as to how the numbers stack up in Manhattan and Brooklyn? Here’s an infographic to give you a basic overview, based on Corcoran’s most recent quarterly reports for both boroughs. (Click here to view the full Manhattan Report and click here to view the full Brooklyn Report.) The infographic highlights the median price by apartment type for each kind of building covered by the report, and it also gives the lowdown for which areas are likely to be your best bets for affordability. And now, especially for sellers, there’s also a focus on the median price per square foot for each area.

Note – I prefer to use the median rather than the average because the median represents the middle point – so half of all the listings noted in a given area are above that price and half are below.

Manhattan prices backed off slightly from their previous record high, with the median price at $1.1 million, 10% higher than Q3 2015. The market is officially in cool down mode, as there were 17% fewer sales closed and 18% fewer contracts signed in Q3 2016 than occurred in the same quarter one year prior.

Brooklyn’s prices saw continued tremendous growth in Q3 2016, with the median sale price at $675,000 – an 18% year over year increase. But even the red hot Brooklyn market has finally started to take a breather – 19% fewer sales closed and 6% fewer contracts were signed in Q3 2016 versus the same quarter one year prior.

Inventory was up significantly in Manhattan, with the number of available homes up 21% versus a year ago in the borough. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, inventory was also up – 7% versus Q3 2015.

The Takeaway

For a third straight quarter, it seems the predictions for slowed growth in 2016 have actually come to fruition which is probably very encouraging news for buyers. However, sellers may not want to get too nervous – it’s important to remember that 2015 was a record year for sales, so softening of the market may just be a sign of market stabilization. But sellers will have to adjust their psychology for this shift in the market in order to move their properties quickly. For example, as reported recently by Brick Underground, sellers may have to consider permitting buyers more contingencies (click here to read more).

Because of the slowdown in the market, there are now more opportunities for good deals to be found in all Manhattan neighborhoods (less so with the Downtown area, due to its high price per square foot). But overall, Upper Manhattan, Midtown and the East Side still remain as top picks for places for buyers to consider in terms of affordability. Brooklyn still offers many neighborhoods with great value, but year over year price growth remains quite strong in a lot of areas, especially deeper into the borough.

If you have more questions about the market, a specific neighborhood or NYC real estate in general (or you know someone who could use some help), feel free to contact me. I’m always happy to help!