Brooklyn home prices remain at the third-highest level on record as inventory and deals sink

The first three months of 2023 did not bring much relief to Brooklyn homebuyers. After experiencing a busy home-buying season in the first half of 2022, the Brooklyn housing market began to cool off. New Yorkers looking to purchase a home in this borough came up against near-record home prices, high mortgage rates, and limited inventory. 

Brooklyn houses and apartments sold for a median of $950,000 in the first quarter of 2023, up 0.2 percent from a year ago, according to the latest Elliman Report. The median sales price was 18.1 percent above pre-pandemic levels and the third-highest on record. Brooklyn home prices were still on the upswing in the first three months of this year despite a slowdown in the sales volume.  

There were 2,236 homes sold in Brooklyn in the first quarter of 2023, down 39 percent from the same period last year. Although there has been a significant decrease in the number of sales in the borough, the total for the first quarter of this year is closer to the decade average, suggesting a trend toward stabilization. However, a lower sales volume did not lead to an increase in the listing inventory. 

Homebuyers in Brooklyn had 2,645 listings to choose from in the first three months of 2023. Listing inventory in Brooklyn fell 9.2 percent year-over-year. The limited inventory increased the competition among buyers. Homes listed for sale in Brooklyn spent, on average, 66 days on the market at the beginning of 2023, down from 110 days a year ago. However, buyers still had a chance to score a good deal. 

Listing discount – the percentage difference from the last listing price to the sales price – climbed to 8 percent in the first quarter of 2023, up from 1.6 percent in 2022. The biggest slowdown in home prices and the number of sales was seen in new condo developments. The average price per square foot in this type of property fell year-over-year for the first time in six quarters. In addition, new condo listings stayed on the market 20 percent longer than in 2022. 

Resources:

“Elliman Report: Brooklyn Sales 1Q 2023,” (Miller Samuel Inc., 2023)

“A 'maddening' Brooklyn market: Slower sales don’t put a dent in prices,” by Emily Myers (Brick Underground, 2023)

“Brooklyn Home Prices Barely Budge in First Quarter as Sales, Inventory Dip After Mortgage Rate Hike,” by Anna Bradley-Smith (Brownstoner, 2023)