Mystery Solved: Who Is the Brooklyn Buyer?

For years people have been wondering who is buying luxury condos and multi-million-dollar townhouses in Brooklyn. Frequently the answer was people who had sold a one- or two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. But times have changed, and the new buyer in Brooklyn more closely resembles the traditional buyer in Manhattan: Buyers with a household income of $300,000 or more who work in finance, accounting, sales, law or marketing, according to a report from Brooklyn real estate firm Ideal Properties.

“The number of these high-income earners who bought homes in these areas shot up more than 316 percent in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the previous year,” said a story about the report in DNAinfo. “They accounted for 30 percent of the buyers.”

The number of buyers earning between $100,000 and $199,000 accounted for only 1 percent more of buyers, 31 percent. However, even buyers who can afford a given property may find themselves having to settle for something else because buyers with bigger assets or who can pay all cash have the edge, according to DNAinfo.

Interestingly, almost 25 percent of buyers in the first quarter were self employed, with the vast majority (74 percent) of those identifying as principals or owners of their own companies. This was a 16 percent increase from the fourth quarter and a 45 percent increase from the year earlier.

Slightly under half of all purchases were made by couples; singles accounted for 40 percent of buys.

Most buyers — 39 percent — already lived in Brooklyn. Seventeen percent came from Manhattan, 9 percent from California, and 12 percent from outside the U.S.

The numbers are based on information submitted to Ideal Properties Group from buyers. The area studied is the North and Northwest sections of Brooklyn only. Areas such as Bed Stuy, Crown Heights, PLG and Bay Ridge were not included.

Profile of Home Buyers in Brooklyn Q1 Report [Ideal Properties]