What Manhattan Prices Buy in Brooklyn

Condo and co-op prices dropped in brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods like Carroll Gardens and Park Slope in the first quarter of 2008, according to a new report from the Corcoran Group. Manhattan owners—and those who can afford to be some day—should take note.

The average sales price of Brooklyn condos and co-ops combined dropped 10 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 through the first of 2008 to $615,000. The median price dropped as well, 7 percent to $549,000.

And townhouse prices across the spectrum tumbled quarterly. The average sales price for a one-family townhouse dropped 8 percent to $1,390,000; and the median dropped 11 percent to $1,150,000. For larger townhouses the drops were steeper—the average sales price decreased 25 percent to $1,445,000.

These Brooklyn price declines reflect a much different reality than the one dominating the Manhattan housing market. There, prices jumped considerably. Case in point: The average sales price for a Manhattan apartment was $1,722,991 in the first quarter of 2008, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel. By the Corcoran numbers, that means the money for an apartment in Manhattan would buy someone a fairly above-average townhouse in Brooklyn (and maybe a condo, too, for the heck of it).