7/30/2015
By Ivan Pereira
Brooklyn’s real estate market is so hot now that buyers aren’t even limited by the asking price when it comes to securing the perfect home.
A study put out Thursday by StreetEasy, a real estate listings site, said bidding wars in the second quarter of 2015 led to homes in nearly half of the borough’s neighborhoods being sold for more than sellers sought for them.
Homes around Prospect Park saw the greatest surge when it came to buyers crossing that threshold. Prospect Heights had a median asking price of $799,000 in the second quarter of 2015, and homes typically sold for 4.1% more than the initial asking price. Park Slope, meanwhile, had a median asking price of $1.05 million, and homes typically sold for 4% more than the asking price.
“It speaks to how competitive and willing buyers are to bid against each other,” said Alan Lightfeldt, a data scientist at StreetEasy.
The surge in bidders is a direct result of the tight real estate market on the other side of the East River, according to StreetEasy.
The Manhattan median sales price in the second quarter was $960,000, compared to Brooklyn’s median of $611,000.
Of course, the high sales prices take potential buyers out of the market and impact rental prices, Lightfeldt said.
Manhattan’s median asking rent in the second quarter of 2015 was $3,300, a 1.5% jump from the same period last year. Brooklyn’s median asking rent dipped 1% between the second quarter of 2014 and 2015 to $2,550.
Prices are really getting out of hands, said Noopoor Akruwala, 22, who lives in Port Jefferson and wants to move to Brooklyn while she attends dental school.
“Areas such as Park Slope, Crown Heights and Prospect Heights are becoming high-end areas that appeal to upper-class citizens,” she said.
There is hope for Brooklyn buyers in the future, according to Lightfeldt. Although prices are at record highs in the borough, the growth shrank from 10.1% in the second quarter of 2014 to 4.1% during the same period this year.
A 17.4% increase in Brooklyn inventory caused the slowdown, according to Lightfeldt. Manhattan’s inventory went up by a mere .1% during the same period.
Lightfeldt said new homes are headed to Greenpoint, Williamsburg and East New York.
“There are a lot of opportunities where developers are taking advantage to make growth,” he said.
Lightfeldt said the growth rate has been declining over the last few quarters, serving as a small but notable beacon of hope for potential buyers waiting to see if sales prices come down at all.
Until then, “You have to act fast and be prepared to go against high competition,” he said. (with John Ambrosio)
