Apartments

In an overall market trend of buyers, many of whom now can work remotely, seeking more space, 3- and 4-bedroom apartments saw the most notable increases. 3-bedroom apartments across our covered neighborhoods saw a 15% median rise in price. The number of 4-bedroom apartments that sold tripled from 2020 to 2021. That is not to say that 1- and 2-bedroom apartments were not popular; inventory for each doubled, and prices went up 8% and 10%, respectively. For a large subset of buyers in a lower price range, the desire to own for the first time, upsize, or move to locations farther from offices and closer to green spaces created a strong sellers’ market, with a 9.75% overall increase in median price. 

Townhouses

The 2021 Brooklyn townhouse market was a story of insatiable demand. The feeling on the ground was that there wasn’t much inventory, but compared to 2020, a strong year in Brooklyn that never saw the dip of Manhattan’s market, the amount of closed transactions in the neighborhoods we cover rose a whopping 72% on average. The truth these numbers convey is that there was not enough inventory for the amount of buyers who had the desire and the available capital for Brooklyn townhouses. 

This rise in inventory was more marked in some neighborhoods than others; go to ryanreport2021.com for more detailed analysis. Of the 13 we cover, 6 of our neighborhoods’ closed sales doubled from 2020 to 2021. Median prices rose 7% across all neighborhoods. Demand clearly outpaced supply, driving up prices.  Many sellers heard tale of a strong seller’s market (could you avoid the coverage?) Desires to retire, downsize, or move from the city could be best monetarily realized now, and many mobilized to take advantage. Ultimately, sellers who felt this way couldn’t outpace buyers catalyzed by the pandemic to upsize, leave Manhattan, or take advantage of historically low interest rates. This resulted in ever-shrinking inventory.