Brooklyn real estate keeps soaring

Brooklyn real estate keeps soaring as both sales and rental markets end 2013 on a high note  - NY Daily News

Brooklyn's totally out of your league now.
The hot borough continued to show signs of strength at the end of 2013 in both the sales and rental markets, according to multiple reports released on Wednesday.
The median price of a Brooklyn home reached $570,110 in the fourth quarter, up 11.2% and marking an 11-year high, according to Douglas Elliman. Sales surged 21.2% to 1,752.

At the same time, the median rent in North and Northwest Brooklyn rent rose about 1% in December to $2,660, and rents in certain must-have Brooklyn neighborhoods soared to new heights.
Bushwick led the way, with the average rent in the neighborhood jumping 8.2% in December to $2,005, according to a report from residential real estate firm MNS.
"If you have to pick the strongest housing market in New York City, rental or sales, Brooklyn seems to have both," Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel, which compiles the Douglas Elliman reports, told the Daily News.

Supply in Brooklyn is scarce, creating frustration for buyers and renters, brokers said. Sales inventory dropped nearly 28% in the fourth quarter.
"We've had bidding wars on rentals," said Michael Guerra, managing director of Douglas Elliman's Brooklyn division.
"We have people anxious to buy in Brooklyn, but they haven't found something that matches their criteria."
Demand is strong across the board. "Sunset Park, Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, you name it," Guerra said. "Bedford-Stuyvesant is unbelievably hot now."
"Brooklyn has emerged as one of the best rental markets in the country," added MNS CEO Andrew Barrocas.

Brooklyn is chugging ahead as Manhattan's notoriously expensive rental market is easing. The median rent in Manhattan fell 1.6% to $3,100, according to Douglas Elliman.
The gap between Manhattan and Brooklyn is now just $440 - it has been hovering from about $300 to $450 since the fall. Back in 2008, the gap was closer to $1,100.
"Prices are down and inventory is up, so all in all now's a great time to be in the market for a new apartment," in Manhattan, said Citi Habitats president Gary Malin.

pfurman@nydailynews.com