Brooklyn is no longer the place to buy a home when you can’t afford Manhattan.
Homes in the Borough of Kings are selling at record-high prices, thanks to surging demand and low-but-rising mortgage rates, according to new real-estate figures.
Before the economic meltdown, the average price of a Brooklyn home hit $603,428 in 2007 — then sank to $494,720 in 2009 — but has rebounded to a stunning $694,777, according to the Elliman Report.
“It isn’t a discount neighborhood anymore,” said Pam Liebman, CEO of The Corcoran Group.
Pricey Manhattan homes are helping to drive buyers across the Brooklyn Bridge, but many are attracted to the hipster borough because it’s become an attractive place to live.
“Brooklyn is commanding record sales because it is truly a destination. People no longer view it as an alternative to living in Manhattan,” said Dottie Herman, president and CEO of Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
Liebman concurs.
“People are choosing to go to Brooklyn for the lifestyle. It’s not your father’s Brooklyn anymore,” she said.
“It’s percolating in every neighborhood,” Herman said. But some percolate more than others.
For example, in Carroll Gardens/Boerum Hill/Red Hook, co-op sales average $937,000, up 41 percent from the same quarter last year.
Condos in Williamsburg/Greenpoint now average $914,000, up 21 percent over the year, according to Corcoran.
Upper-end luxury homes jumped to a median sales price of $1.7 million borough-wide, an increase of 18 percent.
Brooklyn is “hot because of all the restaurant openings, Barclays Center,” said Frank Percesepe, regional senior vice president, Brooklyn for Corcoran. “So many commercial neighborhoods are getting new buildings, and they are getting turned around into beautiful neighborhoods.”
Meanwhile, even if you can afford a Brooklyn home, it’s harder to find one. Inventory is at its lowest third-quarter level in five years. And what’s available is relatively new.
http://nypost.com/2013/10/10/brooklyn-home-prices-hit-10-year-record-high/