Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood/Flickr user adamgetsawesome
The latest MNS report on Brooklyn indicates the market remained stable year-over-year, with just a 0.58 percent rent increase from Feb. 2015 to Feb. 2016. The average rent in February of last year was $2,700.99 and this year grew to $2,716.55.
Brooklyn’s rental market is notoriously in demand year-over-year, however, so rent growth in any regard is not likely to turn heads. Still, Brooklyn rents decreased slightly month-over-month by 0.03 percent, from $2,717.39 in January to $2,716.55 in February.
Nonetheless, some neighborhoods within Brooklyn featured high rent growth last month, specifically Greenpoint, where overall rent increased by 3.23 percent from $2,692 to $2,779.
“It has a lot to do with families moving into the neighborhood. You have a lot of development on the waterfront. More retailers are coming in,” said Andrew Barrocas, CEO of MNS.
According the report, the increase is driven by rising demand for two-bedroom units, which saw prices rise by an impressive 6.01 percent last month. In January, two-bedrooms in Greenpoint sat at an average $3,087 and grew to $3,273 in February.
“People priced out of Williamsburg or who don’t want to be there because there are more tourists and shopping are looking to Greenpoint as a well-established area with good school districts and emerging infrastructure,” Barrocas said. “There’s a lot of development happening. It’s a very desirable area for families.”
1133 Manhattan Ave., known as Eleven33, brought in higher priced units to Greenpoint’s market last month, according to MNS. Two-bedroom, one-bathroom units currently listed on the property website range from $3,827 to $3,873, while two-bedroom, two-bathroom units range from $3,483 to $5,408 for the most expensive unit.
Like many other up-and-coming developments in Greenpoint, its prime setting allows for unobstructed views of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Although Greenpoint took the top spot in terms of monthly price increase, Crown Heights had the highest year-over-year rise in rent at 7.9 percent, followed closely by Prospect Lefferts Gardens with 7.8 percent growth.
Studios in Crown Heights were the highest in their category to increase since January, with a 3.98 percent price jump to reach $1,681 per month on average. The average price for Brooklyn studios is $2,162.
On the opposite end, one-bedrooms in Dumbo dropped last month by 3.07 percent but still remain the most expensive in their class at $3,963 per month. Dumbo is the most expensive neighborhood across the board for both studios ($3,050) and two-bedrooms ($5,548).
For the most part, the least expensive neighborhood in Brooklyn is Bay Ridge. Studios in Bay Ridge run $1,384 per month on average, while one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms cost an average of $1,697 and $2,179, respectively.
