Andreea Popescu Key Takeaways:
- First quarter sales activity went up by 5% compared to last year.
- Hudson Yards remained most expensive neighborhood with a $4.6 million median sale price.
- Malba was the 7th-priciest neighborhood, with a $2 million median sale price.
- Manhattan’s most affordable neighborhood was Inwood with a $409,575 median home sale price.
The first quarter of 2020 was full of unexpected developments all around the globe. COVID-19 is reshaping industries worldwide, and real estate is no exception — particularly in New York City. To that end, we crunched the numbers to analyze median sale prices and sales activity in New York City’s neighborhoods in Q1 2020. Our study included 175 neighborhoods that recorded a minimum of five transactions. There were 13 ties in median sale prices.
Manhattan Median Sales Prices Decline 6%, Queens Surges 13%
Overall, New York City’s Q1 median sale prices were up 4% compared to Q1 2019, reaching $650,000. Meanwhile, sales activity at the end of the quarter was 5% up Y-o-Y, with 6,920 transactions as opposed to 6,581 in Q1 2019.
At a borough level, compared to Q1 2019, median sale prices rose in Brooklyn and Queens by 3% and a robust 13%, respectively. Specifically, median sale prices in Brooklyn reached $671,250, while properties in Queens landed at a $510,000 median. Conversely, sale prices in Manhattan dropped by 6% and by 2% in the Bronx. However, despite the drop in sale prices, Manhattan remains New York’s priciest borough, with a $1 million median sale price. The Bronx closed the first quarter of 2020 with a $295,000 median sale price.
Hudson Yards’ $4.6 Million Median Sale Price Outpaces TriBeCa by More Than a Million Dollars
With its iconic new developments and $4.6 million median sale price, Hudson Yards remains the most expensive neighborhood in New York City since dethroning TriBeCa in Q3 2019. Moreover, adding to Hudson Yards’ exclusivity is the fact that its median surpasses TriBeCa’s $3.1 million sale price by almost $1.5 million. However, in terms of sales activity, Hudson Yards’ number of sales decreased sharply — by 75% —in Q1 2020 versus the same time period last year, from 31 transactions in 2019 to just eight this year.
On the other hand, TriBeCa’s median sale price has been steadily decreasing for the past two years, down 26% in Q1 2020 from Q1 2019. But Q1 was actually an uptick of 19% over Q4 2019 — from $2.6 million to $3.1 million. The jump was largely due to the fact that, in Q1 2020, only 6% of total sales were below $1.5 million, while about 25% of sales were below that benchmark in Q4 2019.
Little Italy Grows 92% Y-o-Y, Outpacing Central Midtown & SoHo
This quarter saw spectacular growth in the number of transactions and prices in Little Italy — specifically, a 200% spike in sales activity and 92% surge in price growth. What’s more, this significant increase in price growth landed the neighborhood in third place.
As a result, SoHo — a second runner-up in Q1 2019’s most expensive NYC neighborhood list — now falls to fourth place, tying with Central Midtown’s $2.4 million median. And, as SoHo recorded a 16% Y-o-Y decrease — dropping by more than half a million — Central Midtown experienced a 62% Y-o-Y increase. The rise in the median price of the latter can be partially attributed to 34 sales with a $3.4 million median sale price at Billionaires Row’s newest addition, the MoMA Expansion Tower at 53 W. 53 St.
DUMBO Regains Top Spot in Brooklyn, Cobble Hill’s Price Surges 93% in One Year
Despite sliding into second place behind Columbia Street Waterfront in Q1 2019 after being the most expensive Brooklyn neighborhood since 2015, DUMBO regained the lead in Q1 2020. It registered a $2.2 million median sale price — more than $400,000 above Columbia Street Waterfront’s $1.8 million median. The brief decline from Q1 2019 can be partially attributed to two transactions below the $1 million mark.
Cobble Hill — the second-most expensive neighborhood in Brooklyn — had the largest price increase in the borough at 93% Y-o-Y, recording a $1.8 million median sale price. Specifically, four homes sold above the $6 million mark in the first three months of the year.
Queens’ Malba Makes Top 10 for First Time Since 2015
Malba, the “Hamptons of Queens,” made the top 10 New York City priciest list for the first time since 2015, landing in 7th place. This quarter, homes here sold for a median sale price of $2 million. A total of five homes sold — three had selling prices greater than $2 million and two sold below $1 million.
Manhattan’s Most Affordable Neighborhood, Inwood, Logs a $409,575 Median Sale Price
In terms of affordability by borough, Inwood is Manhattan’s most affordable neighborhood with a $409,575 median sale price. Next, with a $495,000 median sale price, Washington Heights is the second-most affordable neighborhood in Manhattan. Here, 66 sales were recorded in the first quarter of 2020, six of which were between $900,000 and $2 million at the five-building Castle Village complex at 120 Cabrini Blvd.
Tudor City, the third-most affordable neighborhood, closed the quarter with a $525,000 median sale price. And, although its Y-o-Y price increase was only 2%, its number of transactions decreased by 37%.
Brooklyn Neighborhood Brownsville Drops 31%, Bay Ridge Transactions Surpass $1.8 Million
Brownsville and Flatlands had the lowest median sale prices in Brooklyn in Q1 2020 at $350,000. In particular, Brownsville experienced a median price drop of 31% Y-o-Y — from $505,000 to $350,000. This was because only 14% of sales in Q1 2020 were above $500,000, while in Q1 2019, 67% of sales hit that mark.
Conversely, Flatlands saw an uptick of 23%, rising by $65,000 Y-o-Y. Bay Ridge was the next-most affordable neighborhood in Brooklyn with a $371,500 median. Prices here decreased 8% Y-o-Y, despite two transactions in Q1 2020 coming in at $1.8 and $2 million — 8223 Colonial Road and 49 74th St.
Median Sale Price in Jamaica Hills in Queens Falls 57%
Queens’ most affordable neighborhood, Jamaica Hills, plunged 57% Y-o-Y — a nearly $200,000 drop from its $340,000 median in Q1 2019 to $147,000 in the same period this year. Meanwhile, Briarwood’s $265,000 median sale price made it the second-most inexpensive neighborhood in the borough. It experienced a 13% Y-o-Y increase of exactly $30,000, largely due to the sale of six homes in the $600,000 to $900,000 range. And, although the price increase was slight, the number of transactions rose 38% Y-o-Y. Finally, Lindenwood was Queens’ third-most inexpensive neighborhood. Its $280,000 median was a 17% Y-o-Y increase compared to Q1 2019.
Most Affordable Bronx Neighborhood, Allerton, Has a $130,000 Median Sale Price
Allerton was the most affordable neighborhood in the Bronx with a $130,000 median, a decline of 28% Y-o-Y. That’s because, while 82% of transactions in Q1 2019 exceeded $200,000, only 33% did so in Q1 2020. Bedford Park was the second-most inexpensive neighborhood in the borough, with a $137,500 median. The third-most affordable neighborhood in the Bronx was Bronxdale, whose $151,000 median fell more than $50,000 Y-o-Y.
Please see table below and type the name of the neighborhood of interest in the search box.
| Borough | Neighborhood | Median Sale Price Q1 2020 | Y-o-Y Change | Transactions Q1 2020 | Y-o-Y Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | Hudson Yards | $4,583,300 | 76% | 8 | -75% |
| Manhattan | TriBeCa | $3,123,015 | -26% | 80 | 25% |
| Manhattan | Little Italy | $2,647,450 | 92% | 18 | 200% |
| Manhattan | Central Midtown | $2,425,000 | 62% | 89 | 41% |
| Manhattan | SoHo | $2,425,000 | -16% | 18 | -28% |
| Brooklyn | DUMBO | $2,217,500 | 50% | 12 | -14% |
| Manhattan | Hudson Square | $2,135,000 | -12% | 25 | 108% |
| Queens | Malba | $2,050,000 | - | 5 | - |
| Brooklyn | Cobble Hill | $1,835,000 | 93% | 18 | 50% |
| Brooklyn | Columbia Street Waterfront District | $1,805,500 | 21% | 8 | -20% |
| Manhattan | Flatiron District | $1,570,000 | -27% | 77 | -13% |
| Brooklyn | Carroll Gardens | $1,451,000 | 2% | 24 | 33% |
| Manhattan | Theatre District - Times Square | $1,355,000 | -22% | 38 | -30% |
| Manhattan | Upper West Side | $1,285,000 | 17% | 463 | 9% |
| Manhattan | West Village | $1,262,500 | 23% | 56 | -5% |
| Brooklyn | Boerum Hill | $1,260,000 | 15% | 9 | -53% |
| Manhattan | Lower East Side | $1,241,729 | 3% | 50 | -37% |
| Brooklyn | Park Slope | $1,200,000 | 14% | 107 | 7% |
| Manhattan | Roosevelt Island | $1,185,000 | 74% | 7 | 40% |
| Brooklyn | Greenpoint | $1,172,500 | -6% | 19 | -30% |
| Manhattan | Greenwich Village | $1,126,000 | -14% | 120 | 19% |
| Brooklyn | Red Hook | $1,120,075 | - | 13 | - |
| Brooklyn | Manhattan Beach | $1,097,500 | -15% | 14 | 75% |
| Brooklyn | Fiske Terrace | $1,088,000 | - | 6 | - |
| Brooklyn | Brooklyn Heights | $1,075,000 | 63% | 45 | 22% |
| Brooklyn | Prospect Heights | $1,075,000 | -2% | 63 | 21% |
| Manhattan | Upper East Side | $1,067,500 | -3% | 454 | -5% |
| Manhattan | Financial District | $1,024,938 | -3% | 64 | 16% |
| Brooklyn | Fort Greene | $1,020,539 | 5% | 14 | -50% |
| Manhattan | Battery Park City | $1,005,000 | -27% | 24 | 0% |
| Manhattan | Chelsea | $979,500 | -11% | 96 | 3% |
| Brooklyn | Williamsburg | $970,000 | 7% | 126 | 19% |
| Brooklyn | Mill Basin | $965,000 | 0% | 8 | 33% |
| Queens | Hunters Point | $907,500 | -7% | 84 | 71% |
| Queens | Ridgewood | $905,000 | - | 5 | - |
| Brooklyn | Dyker Heights | $896,000 | 6% | 29 | 12% |
| Manhattan | Turtle Bay | $890,000 | 8% | 45 | -25% |
| Manhattan | Sutton Place | $887,500 | -24% | 72 | 80% |
| Manhattan | Clinton - Hell's Kitchen | $882,984 | -1% | 68 | -17% |
| Queens | Auburndale | $870,000 | 9% | 31 | 11% |
| Queens | East Flushing | $865,000 | 17% | 17 | 21% |
| Manhattan | East Village | $865,000 | -20% | 56 | 19% |
| Queens | Ditmars - Steinway | $847,500 | -14% | 6 | 0% |
| Queens | Fresh Meadows | $838,694 | 5% | 40 | 21% |
| Queens | Queensboro Hill | $830,000 | -6% | 9 | 29% |
| Brooklyn | Downtown Brooklyn | $825,000 | -1% | 61 | 69% |
| Brooklyn | Prospect - Lefferts Gardens | $817,500 | 25% | 12 | -14% |
| Brooklyn | Greenwood Heights | $790,000 | -15% | 11 | -45% |
| Manhattan | Gramercy Park | $784,500 | -37% | 65 | -29% |
| Queens | Rockwood Park | $772,500 | 12% | 10 | -33% |
| Queens | Hollis Hills | $770,000 | 175% | 13 | 44% |
| Queens | Belle Harbor | $762,500 | - | 12 | - |
| Brooklyn | Gowanus | $1,050,000 | -6% | 11 | 38% |
| Manhattan | Harlem | $753,750 | 7% | 134 | 35% |
| Brooklyn | Crown Heights | $745,000 | 16% | 22 | -33% |
| Brooklyn | Clinton Hill | $743,323 | 4% | 35 | 21% |
| Queens | Old Howard Beach | $722,500 | 28% | 6 | -33% |
| Queens | Maspeth | $720,000 | 7% | 18 | -14% |
| Brooklyn | Bath Beach | $716,738 | 59% | 22 | 5% |
| Brooklyn | Bensonhurst | $716,400 | 6% | 20 | -31% |
| Brooklyn | Borough Park | $714,002 | -21% | 52 | 41% |
| Brooklyn | Bedford-Stuyvesant | $707,188 | 4% | 76 | -30% |
| Brooklyn | Wingate | $699,205 | 14% | 8 | -11% |
| Queens | South Astoria | $696,205 | 10% | 24 | 33% |
| Queens | Whitestone | $685,000 | 39% | 79 | 4% |
| Queens | Glendale | $680,000 | 18% | 16 | -16% |
| Manhattan | Kips Bay | $675,140 | -4% | 37 | 3% |
| Queens | Bayside | $670,000 | 10% | 109 | 4% |
| Queens | Old Astoria | $668,079 | 4% | 23 | -23% |
| Manhattan | Murray Hill | $662,500 | -17% | 76 | 21% |
| Brooklyn | Marine Park | $653,000 | 1% | 23 | 15% |
| Brooklyn | Madison | $650,000 | -11% | 21 | 17% |
| Queens | Middle Village | $650,000 | 8% | 53 | 165% |
| Queens | East Elmhurst | $641,500 | -3% | 34 | 0% |
| Queens | College Point | $630,000 | -24% | 25 | 213% |
| Queens | Hollis | $625,000 | 7% | 11 | 0% |
| Queens | Floral Park | $620,000 | -5% | 23 | 53% |
| Brooklyn | Old Mill Basin | $616,250 | 19% | 16 | -11% |
| Queens | Richmond Hill | $612,000 | 21% | 11 | -21% |
| Bronx | Woodlawn | $610,000 | 213% | 7 | 40% |
| Brooklyn | Bushwick | $605,859 | 3% | 39 | 44% |
| Brooklyn | Windsor Terrace | $600,000 | -3% | 13 | -32% |
| Manhattan | East Harlem | $597,500 | -8% | 26 | -7% |
| Bronx | Spencer Estates - Country Club | $597,500 | 5% | 12 | -20% |
| Queens | Woodhaven | $587,500 | 14% | 24 | 4% |
| Bronx | Pelham Gardens | $571,250 | 20% | 12 | 50% |
| Queens | Pomonok | $565,000 | 3% | 15 | 67% |
| Brooklyn | Kensington | $563,753 | -21% | 24 | -25% |
| Brooklyn | Ditmas Park | $559,000 | -13% | 23 | 92% |
| Queens | Downtown Flushing | $557,500 | 43% | 152 | 111% |
| Queens | Queens Village | $551,000 | 1% | 74 | 45% |
| Queens | Ozone Park | $547,500 | 17% | 36 | 38% |
| Brooklyn | Sunset Park | $546,500 | 0% | 18 | 20% |
| Queens | Laurelton | $540,000 | 12% | 39 | 15% |
| Queens | Murray Hill - Queens | $540,000 | 68% | 59 | -25% |
| Queens | Rosedale | $539,500 | 16% | 16 | -38% |
| Brooklyn | Midwood | $534,581 | 0% | 81 | -5% |
| Brooklyn | Prospect Park South | $528,000 | -9% | 13 | 117% |
| Brooklyn | Georgetown | $527,500 | 11% | 6 | -45% |
| Bronx | Edenwald | $526,000 | 24% | 9 | -18% |
| Queens | Cambria Heights | $525,000 | 15% | 29 | -19% |
| Brooklyn | East Flatbush | $525,000 | 5% | 57 | 54% |
| Manhattan | Tudor City | $525,000 | 2% | 17 | -37% |
| Queens | Douglaston | $515,000 | -22% | 38 | 15% |
| Bronx | Mott Haven | $500,916 | -1% | 7 | 40% |
| Queens | South Ozone Park | $500,000 | -3% | 62 | 17% |
| Brooklyn | Sheepshead Bay | $497,430 | 40% | 70 | -3% |
| Brooklyn | East New York | $496,500 | 27% | 36 | -8% |
| Brooklyn | Flatbush | $495,000 | -4% | 21 | 11% |
| Manhattan | Washington Heights | $495,000 | 12% | 66 | 12% |
| Brooklyn | Gerritsen Beach | $490,650 | 9% | 20 | -26% |
| Queens | Jamaica Estates | $488,900 | -45% | 22 | -21% |
| Queens | Springfield Gardens | $488,500 | 9% | 34 | -8% |
| Bronx | Morris Park | $480,000 | -11% | 8 | -20% |
| Bronx | Unionport | $476,580 | -3% | 5 | -50% |
| Queens | LIC | $475,000 | 36% | 15 | -25% |
| Queens | Saint Albans | $470,000 | 3% | 61 | 7% |
| Queens | Jamaica | $462,000 | 9% | 93 | -1% |
| Bronx | Pelham Bay | $460,000 | 67% | 10 | -29% |
| Queens | Woodside | $460,000 | 12% | 25 | -34% |
| Bronx | Wakefield | $442,500 | 8% | 24 | 41% |
| Brooklyn | Brighton Beach | $435,000 | 8% | 33 | -3% |
| Queens | Sunnyside Gardens | $426,560 | -47% | 7 | 17% |
| Bronx | City Island | $426,250 | 14% | 10 | 67% |
| Brooklyn | Coney Island | $422,500 | 11% | 36 | -3% |
| Queens | Astoria Heights / Upper Ditmars | $420,000 | -13% | 9 | 29% |
| Brooklyn | Homecrest | $420,000 | -24% | 17 | -6% |
| Queens | Jackson Heights | $420,000 | 15% | 80 | -4% |
| Queens | Sunnyside | $416,500 | 19% | 20 | 0% |
| Queens | Breezy Point | $415,000 | 2% | 13 | -19% |
| Bronx | Throggs Neck | $415,000 | -6% | 35 | -20% |
| Queens | Rego Park | $412,500 | 18% | 78 | -20% |
| Queens | Rochdale | $412,500 | 1% | 10 | -23% |
| Queens | Brookville | $410,000 | -19% | 11 | 22% |
| Manhattan | Inwood | $409,575 | 1% | 17 | 21% |
| Bronx | Laconia | $409,500 | -8% | 10 | 0% |
| Brooklyn | Gravesend | $391,000 | -18% | 40 | -5% |
| Queens | Seaside | $390,000 | - | 7 | - |
| Queens | Elmhurst | $386,000 | -9% | 69 | 30% |
| Queens | Forest Hills | $385,000 | -11% | 175 | -4% |
| Bronx | Clason Point | $380,000 | 21% | 19 | 58% |
| Queens | Rockaway Park | $375,000 | 79% | 6 | -45% |
| Queens | Corona | $373,000 | 13% | 25 | -14% |
| Brooklyn | Canarsie | $372,000 | -17% | 36 | 0% |
| Brooklyn | Bay Ridge | $371,500 | -8% | 78 | 11% |
| Queens | Far Rockaway | $357,500 | -2% | 20 | 18% |
| Queens | Broad Channel | $350,000 | - | 5 | - |
| Brooklyn | Brownsville | $350,000 | -31% | 7 | 17% |
| Brooklyn | Flatlands | $350,000 | 23% | 33 | 22% |
| Bronx | Riverdale | $347,500 | 4% | 29 | 7% |
| Bronx | Concourse | $345,000 | 25% | 5 | 0% |
| Queens | Bellerose | $340,000 | 20% | 49 | 53% |
| Queens | Glen Oaks | $340,000 | 6% | 39 | -3% |
| Queens | Kew Gardens Hills | $330,000 | 0% | 58 | -29% |
| Queens | Kew Gardens | $328,000 | 7% | 45 | 5% |
| Queens | Oakland Gardens | $314,240 | 3% | 55 | 6% |
| Bronx | Woodstock | $307,500 | 12% | 8 | -20% |
| Queens | Arverne | $306,775 | -9% | 6 | 0% |
| Queens | Little Neck | $300,500 | -14% | 20 | -5% |
| Bronx | Spuyten Duyvil | $295,000 | 7% | 29 | 16% |
| Bronx | Soundview | $285,081 | - | 16 | - |
| Bronx | Kingsbridge Heights - Jerome Park | $282,278 | 9% | 12 | 33% |
| Queens | Lindenwood | $280,000 | 17% | 33 | -6% |
| Queens | Briarwood | $265,000 | 13% | 51 | 38% |
| Bronx | Williamsbridge | $257,365 | -29% | 14 | -26% |
| Bronx | North Riverdale | $242,500 | 1% | 32 | 45% |
| Bronx | Fordham | $242,000 | 34% | 13 | -38% |
| Bronx | Fieldston | $239,762 | 1% | 18 | 38% |
| Bronx | Parkchester | $180,000 | 7% | 56 | 12% |
| Bronx | Concourse Village | $178,000 | -37% | 5 | -71% |
| Bronx | Park Versailles - Bronx River | $175,000 | - | 8 | - |
| Bronx | Bronxdale | $151,000 | -26% | 10 | 25% |
| Queens | Jamaica Hills | $147,000 | -57% | 14 | -7% |
| Bronx | Bedford Park | $137,500 | -27% | 10 | 43% |
| Bronx | Allerton | $130,000 | -28% | 11 | 0% |
Methodology
All prices expressed in the study are median home sale prices and were calculated based on residential property sales that closed between January 1 and March 31, 2020. The properties included in the statistics were single-family homes, condominiums, and co-ops. Package deals were not included. All neighborhoods with five or more transactions were included.
