“More Manhattanites Buy Brooklyn Condos” – What About the Other Way Around?

We recently released a study, first covered by Brownstoner, which revealed that Brooklyn condos are becoming increasingly appealing for Manhattan buyers, especially those priced at $1 million and above. The number of buyers of Brooklyn condos in the $1 million plus range coming from Manhattan increased by 53% in 2011 compared to 2010.  But what about the number of Brooklynites moving to Manhattan? Is this number even higher?

The answer is no – there are about 5 times more people from Manhattan buying Brooklyn condos than the other way around. Brooklyn buyers accounted for only 2% of the condo purchasers in 2011 in Manhattan above the $500,000 price range, and 1.4% in the $1M+ range. There were much more people from Long Island (Suffolk & Nassau Counties) – 4.1% – than from Brooklyn  who bought condos in Manhattan.

Leaving Brooklyn aside, it comes at no surprise that the bulk of Manhattan condos (67%) are bought by Manhattanites; about 8% are coming from the New York State (other than the five boroughs), 6% from New Jersey and 3% from California. This holds true (with small differences) for pretty much all price categories analyzed: $500,000+, $750,000+, and $1,000,000+.