Brooklyn Prices Drop It Like It's Not Hot

OK, we’re gonna try this post again...The average sales price of nearly every type of property in Brooklyn has dropped over the past three months, some in the double digits, according to The Corcoran Group’s most recent report, which tracks deals made by the firm; overall, both average and median prices fell 2% year-over-year. “There’s been a definite pullback in the marketplace,” said Brooklyn Regional VP Frank Percesepe. Single-family townhouses fared the worst, dropping between the first quarter last year and the first quarter of this year from an average sales price of $1,798,000 to $1,390,000, a 23 percent decrease. (By comparison, multifamilies fell 10%.) The average price of a two-bedroom fell 3 percent, from $611,000 to $591,000. The one bright spot? Studios rose from an average price of $272,000 to $350,00. On the larger end of the market, three-bedroom co-ops fared much better than their condo brethren, rising 12% versus a decline of 5%. Percesepe said sales closed during the first quarter reflect economic difficulties that started to set in last November, and the Bear Stearns collapse could affect next quarter. But he said attendance at open houses was up last week, only the buyers are different than during Brooklyn’s peak boom era. “There’s fewer investors, more people buying for their own homes.”