Brooklyn apartment prices are still inching up, even as the market cools on the activity side. In the first quarter, the median sales price for co-ops and condos in the borough rose 2 percent year‑over‑year to $840,000, while the number of recorded closings slipped. A steady stream of high-end deals helped keep headline prices aloft even as contract activity slowed in many neighborhoods.
Boroughwide snapshot
A quarterly market report from Brown Harris Stevens pegs the average Brooklyn apartment price at about $1.12 million, roughly a 6 percent increase from a year earlier, with the median landing at $840,000. The firm also notes that recorded closings in the quarter came in about 3 percent below the first quarter of 2025, a pullback the report connects in part to limited inventory in several submarkets.
Inventory, contracts and neighborhoods
Coverage of the report by the Brooklyn Eagle highlights that signed contracts across Brooklyn fell about 14 percent in the quarter, even as active listings rose roughly 12 percent. Inventory is still not back to historical norms, with listings remaining about 4 percent below the 10‑year first‑quarter average.
The Eagle also points out that deals above $2 million continued to do much of the heavy lifting on pricing across the borough. North Brooklyn was a standout, posting a median price near $1.4 million with a double‑digit gain compared to a year earlier.
Why brokers expect prices to hold
“Low inventory across many neighborhoods should stabilize prices despite elevated mortgage rates,” Brown Harris Stevens CEO Bess Freedman writes in the firm’s report (Brown Harris Stevens). The report emphasizes that it is the shortage of homes for sale, rather than a rush of new buyers, that is doing most of the work to support both median and average prices even as some measures of sales activity soften.
Market takeaways for buyers and sellers
The first‑quarter snapshot underscores a split market for Brooklyn shoppers. At the top end, where those $2 million‑plus deals sit, competition remains intense. By contrast, conditions in the middle of the market have cooled, with fewer signed contracts in play.
For sellers in inventory‑starved neighborhoods, and for owners listing properties above the $2 million mark, the current backdrop still favors holding firm on pricing, even as overall signed‑contract volumes edge down.
