The Current State of NYC’s Rental Market & Where It’s Headed (Part 4 of 5)
Comparing Pre-Covid, Covid and Current Apartment Rental Price Data: Brooklyn
In this portion of the article, we will be covering the average monthly apartment rents across different Brooklyn neighborhoods in the month of October from 2019-2022. It’s a lot of data, so we decided to use Bar Graphs to efficiently portray how neighborhood prices have changed before, during and after peak COVID. There is a brief description of the data for each neighborhood above the graphs, followed by a conclusion at the end of the article. Please click on each portion of the graphs to get the exact figures. Please call us at 212-444-2787 for any questions!
Greenpoint
Greenpoint is one of the more expensive neighborhoods in Brooklyn, and it appears that Covid has made Brookyln even more appealing to renters in general. Typically, the closer you are to Manhattan, the more expensive the unit. 1, 2 or 3 stops into Brooklyn on the L train is typically where you find the pricier BK units.
From 2019 to 2020, prices fell an average ~$300 across all Greenpoint apartments, which is less than the market average over this time. It’s important to note that Studio and 1BR prices dropped a lot less than 2BR and 3BR prices. From 2020 to 2021, prices rose slightly back above Pre-Covid levels, and since Covid, demand in desirable Brooklyn neighborhoods, like Greenpoint, has skyrocketed. With prices already above Pre-Covid levels in 2021, in 2022 prices rose about $1000 further, which is well above the average during this span.
Williamsburg
Williamsburg, along with Dumbo and Greenpoint, is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
From 2019 to 2020, prices only fell an average ~$400 across all Williamsburg apartments, which is less than average. It’s also important to note that Studio and 1BR prices dropped a lot less than 2BR and 3BR prices. From 2020 to 2021, prices rose slightly back above Pre-Covid levels, and since Covid, demand in desirable Brooklyn neighborhoods, like Williamsburg, has skyrocketed. With prices already above Pre-Covid levels in 2021, from 2021 to 2022 prices rose even further about $900 which is above the average during this span.
DUMBO
DUMBO, like Williamsburg and Greenpoint, is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Brooklyn. It may actually be the MOST expensive overall.
From 2019 to 2020, prices only fell an average ~$400 across all DUMBO apartments, which is less than market average. Studio and 3BR+ listing prices dropped the most from 2019 to 2020. From 2020 to 2021, prices rose slightly back above Pre-Covid levels, and since Covid, demand in desirable Brooklyn neighborhoods, like DUMBO, has increased. With prices already above Pre-Covid levels in 2021, from 2021 to 2022 prices then rose another about $600 which is about the average during this span.
Bushwick
Bushwick is a little harder to reach via the L train, and is therefore one of the more average priced Brooklyn neighborhoods to rent in. Rents in these areas saw little fluctuation in price during Covid, and unlike the aforementioned neighborhoods, rents in these areas havent skyrocketed too much since 2020.
From 2019 to 2020, prices only fell an average ~$300 across all Bushwick apartments, which is less than market average. 1BR and 2BR listing prices dropped more from 2019 to 2020 than did Studio and 3BR prices. From 2020 to 2021, prices rose slightly back above Pre-Covid levels, and since Covid, prices have continued to rise, although slowly. With prices already above Pre-Covid levels in 2021, from 2021 to 2022 prices then rose another about $200 which is the average during this span.
Clinton Hill
Clinton Hill is another highly sought after neighborhood in Brooklyn, especially since Covid has made Brookyln more appealing to renters in general. Again, the closer you are to Manhattan, the more expensive the unit. 1, 2 or 3 stops into Brooklyn on the L train is typically where you find the pricier BK units.
From 2019 to 2020, prices only fell an average ~$300 across all Clinton Hill apartments, which is less than the market average over this time. From 2020 to 2021, prices rose slightly to Pre-Covid levels, and since Covid, demand has remained consistent. With prices already at Pre-Covid levels in 2021, in 2022 prices rose about $300 further, which is less than the average. Clinton Hill saw very little fluctuation in price compared to some other neighborhoods.
Park Slope
While less sought after than Clinton Hill, DUMBO, etc, Park Slope is still a popular, convenient neighborhood that has above average rents for Brooklyn.
From 2019 to 2020, prices only fell an average ~$300 across all Park Slope apartments, which is less than the market average over this time. The largest drop in price occurred with 2BR, and the smallest drop in prices occurred with studios. From 2020 to 2021, prices rose slightly to Pre-Covid levels, and since Covid, demand has remained consistently high. With prices already at Pre-Covid levels in 2021, in 2022 prices rose about $300 further, which is less than the average. The exception is for 2BR where the price spiked from 2021 to 2022.
Fort Greene
Fort Greene is another pricey Brooklyn neighborhood, with prices basically on par with Greenpoint for studio and 1BR apartments. Prices for 2BR and 3BR are actually more affordable in Fort Greene.
From 2019 to 2020, prices only fell an average ~$300 across all Fort Greene apartments, which is less than the market average over this time. The largest drop in price occurred with 2BR, and the smallest drop in prices occurred with studios. From 2020 to 2021, prices rose slightly to Pre-Covid levels, and since Covid, demand has remained consistently high. With prices already at Pre-Covid levels in 2021, in 2022 prices rose about $700 further, which is above average during this span.
Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn has rents that are above average for Brooklyn. While slightly cheaper than DUMBO typically, Downtown Brooklyn is still at the top of Brooklyn renter’s budgets.
From 2019 to 2020, prices only fell an average ~$600 across all Downtown Brooklyn apartments, which is slightly less than the market average over this time. The largest drop in price occurred with 2BR which dropped $800 from 2019 to 2020. From 2020 to 2021, prices rose above Pre-Covid levels, and since Covid, demand has remained consistently high. With prices rising about $700 further, which is more than the average.
Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights also has rents that are slightly above average for Brooklyn. While studios and 1BR are relatively affordable, the price for 2BR+ skyrockets in this neighborhood.
From 2019 to 2020, prices only fell an average ~$400 across all Brooklyn Heights apartments, which is less than the overall market average over this time. The largest drop in price occurred with 1BR which dropped $800 from 2019 to 2020. Studio prices only fell $250 on average during this time. Then, from 2020 to 2021, demand remained high. With prices rising about $800 further, which is more than the average, with 1BR and 2BR seeing the biggest jump.
Boerum Hill
Boerum Hill has average apartment rents for Brooklyn, and the prices fell very little during peak Covid, with some apartment rents in this neighborhood actually increasing during 2020.
Overall, from 2019 to 2020, prices only fell an average ~$300 across all Boerum Hill apartments, which is less than the overall market average over this time. Prices for studio apartments actually rose during this time, making Boerum Hill one of the only neighborhoods where prices went up during Peak Covid. Then, from 2020 to 2021, demand remained high but not as high as other Brooklyn neighborhoods. With prices rising only above $100, which is way less than the average, AND with some prices actually going down. Since 2021, prices have gone up slowly, but consistently.
Cobble Hill
Cobble Hill is a little harder to reach via the L train, and is therefore only slightly above the Brooklyn average when it comes to rent. Some rents in Cobble Hill fell during Covid, but only slightly, as other Brooklyn neighborhoods became slightly more desirable as Manhattan renters moved to Brooklyn.
From 2019 to 2020, prices only fell an average ~$500 across all Cobble Hill apartments, which is slightly less than market average. Studio, 2BR and 3+BR listing prices dropped less from 2019 to 2020 than did 1BR prices. From 2020 to 2021, prices rose slightly back above Pre-Covid levels, and since Covid, prices have continued to rise, although slowly. With prices already above Pre-Covid levels in 2021, from 2021 to 2022 prices then rose another about $600 which is the above average during this span, with studio and 1BR prices spiking since Covid.
Flatbush/PLG
Flatbush/PLG is a harder to reach via the L train, and is therefore one of the more affordable Brooklyn neighborhoods to rent in. Flatbush is typically on par with Crown Heights in terms of prices, with Borough/Sunset Park being even cheaper. Overall, the further you move from Manhattan, the more affordable rents get.
Rents in these areas saw little fluctuation in price during Covid. From 2019 to 2020, prices only fell an average ~$150 across all PLG/Flatbush apartments, which is way less than market average. From 2020 to 2021, prices rose slightly back above Pre-Covid levels for 1BR and 3BR, and since Covid, prices have continued to rise, although slowly. With prices already above Pre-Covid levels in 2021, from 2021 to 2022 prices then rose another about $350 which is slightly less than the average during this span.
Conclusion
One takeaway is that, compared to Manhattan, Brooklyn saw a lot less fluctuation in apartment rents from 2019 to 2021. Furthermore, prices even went up in some Brooklyn neighborhoods during Covid in 2020. We believe this is due to the fact that many city dwellers moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn to be in a “less crowded but equally hip” part of NYC during peak Covid.
Another key takeaway from the data is that in Brooklyn, prices not only rose from 2020 to 2021 but have continued to rise significantly since then. Demand for Brooklyn apartments seems to have remained consistent all through 2021 and 2022, as the data shows Brooklyn saw continuous, significant price increases from 2021 to 2022 when compared to Manhattan.
The NYC rental market really has been a roller coaster since 2019. Now that you have understanding of both the history of NYC’s rental market, as well as the average rent changes from 2019-2022, we can disucss the future of the market! In part 5, we will be discussing where the NYC rental market is going from here, and what you should expect in 2023. Will the NYC rental market ever slow down? Will rents keep going up before they go down? Check in next week to find out!
