Williamsburg condos are getting pricier — but that brownstone of your dreams got a little more affordable.
Average prices for condos in Williamsburg and Greenpoint in the third quarter rose 6-1/2 percent from the second quarter and a whopping 22.9 percent in the third quarter this year compared with the same period a year ago.
In Williamsburg, condos had an average price $712,015 — $44,000 more expensive than the last quarter, and $89,000 more expensive than the first quarter of 2011, according to data compiled by Douglas Elliman, the real estate firm.
Analyst Jonathan Miller said that buyers are looking hard at Williamsburg developments for two main reasons — Manhattan’s pricey and limited rental market, which has forced buyers to consider properties in North Brooklyn, and new interest in property had previously been stalled because of the slumping economy.
“You’ve had a lot of property come on the market [this year], and you’re seeing some movement,” said Miller.
Housing prices in other parts of Brooklyn are more stable.
In Sheepshead Bay, Coney Island, Bay Ridge, Flatbush, and other neighborhoods below Prospect Park, the average price of condo units increased slightly by 5.7 percent to $425,880 this quarter compared with last quarter, when condos cost about $23,000 less.
And one- to three-family houses and co-op units rose eight percent and 6.9 percent, respectively, from last quarter.
Houses are still more expensive than condos in South Brooklyn, however, as the average price of a one- to three-family house is $580,000, about $43,000 more than last quarter, and $60,000 more than prices in the first quarter of this year.
And in Downtown neighborhoods, which include Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, and Brooklyn Heights, the average price for all housing units was $813,331, dropping a paltry 1.8 percent or about $15,000, from the previous quarter.
This continues a downward trend from the third quarter of 2010, when average prices reached a high of $879,611.
Miller believes that the neighborhoods’ prices are leveling off.
“For the last year and a half, this area has been one of if not the best performing regions in Brooklyn,” said Miller. “Now you’re seeing the other markets catch up and northwest Brooklyn is becoming stable.”
But Miller found some volatility among brownstones — one- to three-family homes.
Prices for one-family homes have dropped 15.9 percent from the previous quarter to $1.57 million while the average price for a two-family home rose 13.1 percent to $1.35 million and the average price for a three-family home jumped 36.5 percent to $1.55 million.
Last quarter, one-family brownstones sold at an average price of $1.87 million, compared with two-family homes, which sold at $1.19 million.
