Roxana Baiceanu 
Brooklyn 2015 real estate market report highlights:
- Brooklyn median home sale price hit an all time high in 2015, reaching $560,000.
- The luxury market registered a record number of sales in 2015: 570 (up by 16% year-over-year)
- DUMBO was the most expensive neighborhood in Brooklyn: median home sale price: $1.4M
- Prospect Lefferts Gardens registered the biggest home price increase year-over-year: 72% (from $408,000 to $700,000)
- The most expensive property sold: a $15.5 million brownstone in Cobble Hill
- The most expensive condo sold: a $5.3 million pad in Brooklyn Heights
The median home sale price in Brooklyn peaked to $560,000 in 2015*
The home price reflects an increase of 12% from the previous year’s record values. The new record may come at no surprise for those who have been keeping an eye on the borough’s real estate market trends for the last couple of years. What’s noteworthy, however, is that the year-over-year increase in Brooklyn home prices is the most significant in the last few years, creating high expectations from the borough’s real estate market for the year just starting.
One of the things which may be driving the price increase is the low inventory in Brooklyn. As a result, the number of sales**closed in 2015 was at the second-lowest in the last decade.
* The total number of properties sold in 2015 was adjusted by 9% (not all 2015 sales are recorded)
**2015 sales data is based on residential properties sold between January 1, 2005 and December 15, 2015
DUMBO: The Priciest Brooklyn Neighborhood in 2015
With a record median home sale price of $1.4 million, DUMBO remains the most expensive area in Brooklyn to buy a house in.
Next in line are Vinegar Hill and Carroll Gardens, their median sale price tied at $1,262,500. These two saw some of the biggest home price increases in 2015 among all Brooklyn neighborhoods — 34% and 32% respectively.
Although not one of the top 10 priciest Brooklyn nabes, Prospects Lefferts-Gardens registered the most robust year-over-year growth in home prices — 72%, from $408,000 to $7000,000.
Luxury Home Sales in Brooklyn Reach Record Numbers
The A-class high-rises that have sprung in various Brooklyn neighborhoods in the last 5 years have led to a jump of 16% in the number of luxury sales — from 480 in 2014 to 570 in 2015. There were many luxury condos sold, the most expensive ones being located in gentrified Williamsburg and DUMBO.
Nevertheless, single-family, detached homes in upper-class Cobble Hill, Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights were also in the limelight in 2015, the most expensive sale being a $15.5 million brownstone at 177 Pacific Street in Cobble Hill.
Top 10 most expensive single-family and apartment sales in Brooklyn in 2015
Top 10 single-family, detached home sales in Brooklyn
| No | Property Address | Sale Price | Neighborhood |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 177 Pacific Street, Brooklyn NY | $15,500,000 | Cobble Hill |
| 2 | 17 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn NY | $12,400,000 | Park Slope |
| 3 | 81 State Street, Brooklyn NY | $10,250,000 | Brooklyn Heights |
| 4 | 165 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn NY | $9,800,000 | Brooklyn Heights |
| 5 | 36 Garden Place, Brooklyn NY | $7,785,000 | Brooklyn Heights |
| 6 | 250 Garfield Place, Brooklyn NY | $7,665,000 | Park Slope |
| 7 | 501 Avenue South, Brooklyn NY | $7,250,000 | Gravesend |
| 8 | 2 Strong Place, Brooklyn NY | $6,873,188 | Cobble Hill |
| 9 | 114 Amity Street, Brooklyn NY | $6,835,000 | Cobble Hill |
| 10 | 24 Verandah Place, Brooklyn NY | $6,150,000 | Cobble Hill |
Top 10 most expensive apartment sales in Brooklyn
| No. | Property Address | Sale Price | Neighborhood |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 360 Furman Street #210, Brooklyn NY | $5,325,000 | Brooklyn Heights |
| 2 | 440 Kent Avenue #PH2A, Brooklyn, NY | $5,250,000 | Williamsburg |
| 3 | 360 Furman Street #205, Brooklyn NY | $4,875,000 | Brooklyn Heights |
| 4 | 72 Poplar Street #1C, Brooklyn NY | $4,737,863 | Brooklyn Heights |
| 5 | 360 Furman Street #327, Brooklyn NY | $4,500,000 | Brooklyn Heights |
| 6 | 2 A Strong Place, Brooklyn NY | $4,327,563 | Cobble Hill |
| 7 | 183 Plymouth Street #3S, Brooklyn NY | $4,100,000 | DUMBO |
| 8 | 205 Water Street #PHN, Brooklyn NY | $3,950,000 | DUMBO |
| 9 | 172 N 10 Street #4PH, Brooklyn NY | $3,920,263 | Williamsburg |
| 10 | 201 North 11 Street #RES3, Brooklyn NY | $3,818,438 | Williamsburg |
Methodology:
* 2015 sales data is based on residential properties sold between January 1, 2015 and December 15, 2015
* For the luxury segment we looked at all sales over $1.5 million closed between January 1, 2011 and December 15, 2015
* The building classes counted are single family homes, condo and coop units
* The total number of properties sold in 2015 was adjusted.
Check out how the year ended for the Queens real estate market as compared to Brooklyn’s!
