Brooklyn median price increases to $840,000 in the first quarter as deals fall
- Transactions in Brooklyn dropped 3.5 percent year over year as per Brown Harris Stevens
- Low listings in many neighborhoods should keep prices stable, said Bess Freedman of BHS
“Brooklyn’s market slowed in the first quarter as higher prices and economic uncertainty made buyers more selective,” said Michael Sorrentino of The Corcoran Group.
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Low listing inventory and economic concerns held back deals in Brooklyn in the first quarter, and those constraints contributed to a higher median sales price.
The median sales price for Brooklyn co-ops and condos increased 2 percent to $840,000, even as deals dropped 3.5 percent compared to the first quarter of 2025, according to Brown Harris Stevens’s first quarter sales market report.
In Queens, the median price for co-ops and condos dropped 6 percent to $397,000 from the year ago quarter, according to BHS. Closings were down 11 percent.
For the Riverdale market, the median apartment sales price was up 6 percent to $339,000. Closings were down 29 percent.
Bess Freedman, CEO of BHS, said that even with rising mortgage rates, inflation, geopolitical tensions, and slower economic growth, demand for Brooklyn properties was strong.
“The low inventory levels in many neighborhoods should keep prices stable in the coming months, even as mortgage rates remain elevated,” she said in her firm’s report.
High-end deals drove activity
Like the Manhattan sales market, where deals above $3 million doubled in the first quarter, boosted by a record Wall Street bonus pool, the high end of the Brooklyn sales market saw sustained demand.
“Brooklyn’s market slowed in the first quarter as higher prices and economic uncertainty made buyers more selective. There were fewer transactions, but prices remained strong, driven largely by continued activity above $2 million,” said Michael Sorrentino, senior vice president and general sales manager for New York at The Corcoran Group.
Sorrentino noted that deals in the Brooklyn market occurred faster in the first quarter: Days on market fell 11 percent.
That means more choices “particularly on the resale side, giving buyers more options than last year and creating opportunities for those who are prepared and ready to act when the right home comes along,” he said.
According to Corcoran’s Brooklyn sales market report, the number of listings represented the highest first-quarter average since 2022, yet was still 4 percent below the 10-year, first-quarter average.
Signed contracts fell 14 percent year over year, the steepest annual decline in more than two years, according to Corcoran.
Sweet spot for Brooklyn houses
In its first quarter sales market reports for Brooklyn and Queens, Compass noted that sales of Brooklyn houses $3 million and above increased 14.1 percent year over year and saw a 5.6 percent higher average price per square foot.
Luxury condo deals in $2-$3 million range were up 13.3 percent annually, year over year, while the $3 million-plus bracket was up 13.9 percent, with the majority of these sales in North and Northwest Brooklyn, the report said.
In Queens, sales of luxury condos in the $1-$1.5 million range increased 26 percent and there were twice as many sales in the $1.5 million-plus segment, a result of new development closings.
Slowdown in new condo pipeline
Coury Napier, director of research at SERHANT, said in his firm’s report on Brooklyn’s new development market that a modest sales increase in the first quarter was driven by deals in south and east Brooklyn. The luxury segment here also powered deals, with closings above $2 million rising 20 percent.
Contract activity declined 15.4 percent, largely due to a slowdown in new condos. New listings fell 7.9 percent year over year, limiting available inventory across the borough.
North Brooklyn stood out, with median prices rising 14.3 percent to $1.4 million and price per square foot increasing 7.9 percent to $1,600, "reinforcing Williamsburg and Greenpoint as key drivers of demand and pricing," Napier said.
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