Brooklyn median sales price rose to $1.15 million on fewer deals in the third quarter
- New listings fell 2.9 percent with inventory concentrated at the lower end of the market
- Despite ‘elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty,’ signed contracts increased
Transactions in Brooklyn fell 9 percent annually. “Recorded sales show some of the lagging effects of earlier caution,” the Elliman report said.
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Brooklyn’s median sales price climbed in the third quarter as buyers competed for fewer listings.
The median sales price increased 5.4 percent to $1.15 million compared to the third quarter of 2025, according to Douglas Elliman’s sales market report with analytics from Marketproof.
There were fewer deals: sales fell 9 percent annually. “Recorded sales show some of the lagging effects of earlier caution,” the report said. Buyers have been spooked by continued high inflation, rising mortgage rates, and low inventory.
New listings were down 2.9 percent year over year, with inventory concentrated at the lower end of the market: 47.8 percent of listings are priced under $999,000 and another 45.1 percent are in the $1 million to $3 million range, the report said.
Stronger fourth quarter expected
Despite “elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty,” signed contracts expanded in the third quarter, increasing 8 percent year over year, according to Corcoran’s Brooklyn sales market report. (Contract activity is an early indicator of where sales are headed in the next quarter.)
Some pricing bands saw increases in inventory, as per Corcoran: Entry-level listings under $350,000 jumped 43 percent, and listings from $350,000 to $500,000 rose 25 percent.
With inventory expanding at more accessible price points, “buyers have greater flexibility than they've had in recent years. Still, pricing has remained firm, and homes are spending less time on the market,” said Michael Sorrentino, senior vice president and general sales manager for New York at The Corcoran Group. Days on market decreased by two percent annually.
Average vs. median sales price
In her firm’s Brooklyn sales market report, Bess Freedman, CEO at Brown Harris Stevens, explained why the average apartment price increased 3 percent over the past year to $1,176,072, yet the median sales price saw a decline. Stronger sales of luxury properties skewed the average price, while the median price reflects the market’s midpoint, she explained.
Brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and DUMBO saw an 11 percent year-over-year increase in the average co-op price per room, as per Brown Harris Stevens. And the average price in Park Slope, South Slope, and Windsor Terrace ($1,476,897) was 7 percent higher than the year-ago quarter.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Freedman said, “the Brooklyn apartment market faces several challenges. Mortgage rates have risen sharply since March and are back over 7 percent. Brooklyn also faces low inventory in many of its neighborhoods. These two factors, along with concerns about the war in Iran, inflation, and the upcoming elections, led to a sharp reduction in signed contracts last quarter.”
Demand for houses in Queens
Compass also released sales market reports for Brooklyn and Queens, taking note of a rise in sales of townhouses in North and Northwest Brooklyn, which saw 1.2 percent and 5 percent more closings year over year.
Overall, inventory of houses was down in Brooklyn with 17.3 percent fewer properties on the market. Median sales price for houses was $1,699,000, a 1.1 percent increase from a year ago.
Queens saw 4,446 deals in the third quarter, a 1.2 percent year-over-year increase. Houses led the growth, with closings up 8.7 percent year-over-year. Northeastern Queens, including Bay Terrace, Bayside, Auburndale, Flushing, and Glen Oaks, posted the largest increase in sales.
Buyers were most active at the top of the market, with luxury homes priced at $1.5 million and above seeing 28.4 percent more closings, the Compass report said.
“If inflation cools and mortgage rates ease, buyers who held back this summer could return” to the market, the report said.
Paying more for the same size condo
Coury Napier, director of research at SERHANT, said in his firm’s sales market reports for Brooklyn and Long Island City that “scarcity pushed prices higher across every [Brooklyn] property type.”
Contracts for Brooklyn condos were nearly flat from the spring, down just 0.9 percent and buyers are paying more at the top, the report noted, with $3 million-plus contracts commanding an 11.1 percent higher average price per square foot and the average price of $3 million-plus condo closings up 26.9 percent.
Condo closings in Long Island City rose 8.7 percent year-over-year, up 29.4 percent from the spring. The average price per square foot was up 10.8 percent and the median price up 10.4 percent even as unit sizes were nearly unchanged.
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