Brooklyn Bridge Park Sunset / Flickr user dumbonyc
Just 20 years ago, the section of Brooklyn coined Dumbo was little more than an isolated manufacturing neighborhood — until local artists and young professionals saw potential and helped transform the neighborhood into the hip, exclusive market it is today.
Filled with loft-style residences, boutiques, galleries and one-of-a-kind culinary experiences, Dumbo’s (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) name doesn’t sound glamorous, but it’s well-situated between the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. Citi Bike kiosks, train stops or a five-minute ride from Manhattan on the East River Ferry puts you right in the heart of it all.
As a creative and relatively small community, Dumbo’s rise to popularity pushed residential prices through the roof.
Most expensive rentals in the borough
Brooklyn Rental Market Report July 2016 / MNS
Boutique real estate brokerage MNS ranked Dumbo as the most expensive Brooklyn neighborhood for renters in July. Studios costed an average $3,136 per month – but also suffered the longest time on market in their category, at 43 days. The average price of Brooklyn studios was $2,245 per month.
One-bedroom units in Dumbo charged an average $4,568 in July, MNS says, which is more than $1,500 higher than Brooklyn’s overall one-bedroom rent of $2,738. And despite its young reputation, Dumbo’s two-bedroom apartments scale beyond most millennial budgets, at a reported average of $5,894 per month.
For homebuyers, Douglas Elliman’s market report for Northwest Brooklyn showed a median sales price of $985,000 in the second quarter. Condos were inarguably more expensive, at a reported $1.085 million, while co-ops costed a median $642,000. Single-family properties ran around $1.97 million across all neighborhoods in Northwest Brooklyn.
Is lifestyle worth the cost?
Cobblestone streets, repurposed factories and classic Big Apple rowhomes are ubiquitous in this waterfront town. So exploring – even for long-time residents – is a must.
Brooklyn Bridge Park offers 85 acres of green space, where you can enjoy film screenings, pop-up swimming pools, outdoor food markets and prime picnicking real estate. The East River Ferry docks nearby on Old Fulton Street, providing Midtown and Downtown Manhattan commuters a picturesque ride to work.
Residents from all over the Big Apple head to Dumbo for its delicious local eateries. Jacques Torres, renowned chocolatier, established his first confection factory in Dumbo, and it’s now converted solely into a sweets retailer. The sister shop next door, Torres Ice Cream, offers cool, creamy delights sandwiched between the manufacturer’s famous cookies.
For savory, Juliana’s provides classic thin crust pies from New York’s renowned pizza entrepreneur, Patsy Grimaldi. Being so close to the waterfront, Dumbo is a leader in seafood creations. Highly-rated restaurant Superfine serves up comforting favorites like shrimp and grits and rainbow trout, depending on the season.
With its residential history attributed largely to artists, Dumbo is full of local shops for high-end clothes, jewelry, books, furnishings and organic essential oils. Independently-run bookstores and art galleries add distinctive character within a major metropolitan that’s regularly regarded as the Financial Capital of the World.
