Key Takeaways:
- Hudson Yards, TriBeCa & SoHo remain top 3 priciest neighborhoods in the city at $3M+
- 38 neighborhoods surpass $1M median even as NYC median ticks down to $755,000
- Sales activity continues robust evolution with 11% Y-o-Y increase
- Manhattan claims 7 of top 10 most expensive neighborhoods
- Brooklyn’s DUMBO records sharpest increase in sales with 229% Y-o-Y surge
- Queens median remains flat Y-o-Y at $550,000 as sales jump 20%
Wary of current financial and economic dynamics, increasing numbers of buyers are pausing home purchases. As a result, some cities are beginning to see early signs of cooling price trends after nearly two years of soaring prices. One of the urban centers showing signs of some deceleration is New York City (NYC), which closed 2021 with its highest median sale price and largest number of transactions in at least 10 years.
However, at the end of Q2, the NYC median sale price contracted for the first time in two years, ticking down 1% year-over-year (Y-o-Y) from $764,000 to $755,000. Conversely, sales were on the rise, totaling 9,242 unique transactions, up 11% over the same period last year.
Median Sale Prices Rise in 77% of NYC’s Most Expensive Neighborhoods
Of the 56 neighborhoods that posted the 50 highest median sale prices (the result of five ties), 43 neighborhoods recorded price gains. This included 11 neighborhoods where year-over-year increases reached 30% or more. What’s more, not only did 77% of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods experience price increases, but two neighborhoods — Brooklyn’s Manhattan Beach and Jamaica Estates in Queens — actually recorded price surges of more than 100%.
Additionally, the number of neighborhoods with medians of $1 million or more also rose from 31 in Q2 2021 to 38 in Q2 2022— an increase of 23% Y-o-Y. Of these, 19 were located in Manhattan, 16 in Brooklyn and three in Queens.
And, while NYC’s median sale price ticked down, the city’s priciest neighborhoods overwhelmingly experienced increases, as evidenced by the #50 most expensive neighborhood’s median: Manhattan’s Sutton Place claimed the last spot in our ranking with an $883,000 median. For comparison, in Q2 2021, it was Turtle Bay that claimed the spot with an $840,000 median.
At the other end of the spectrum, 12 of the priciest NYC neighborhoods logged declines in their median sale prices, and half of these were in double-digit territory. But the sharpest price drop by far was the West Village’s 35%. No other neighborhood surpassed 20%.
Explore the interactive map below for at-a-glance price and sales insights for NYC’s neighborhoods in Q2 2022:
Meanwhile, most of the city’s priciest neighborhoods saw sales activity further accelerate, as 32 neighborhoods closed more residential sales in Q2 2022 than during the same period last year. Notably, that included DUMBO, where transactional activity more than tripled, surging 229% Y-o-Y.
At the same time, sales activity decelerated in 22 neighborhoods during the second quarter of this year, whereas that was the case in only two neighborhoods in Q2 2021. Moreover, of the 22 locations where sales slowed, five neighborhoods saw transactional activity decline by 30% or more.
Hudson Yards, TriBeCa & SoHo Maintain Lead with $3M+ Medians
With a median sale price of $1,235,000 and a 10% Y-o-Y increase in the borough’s median, Manhattan (as expected) remained the priciest of the four boroughs analyzed. And as is usually the case, Manhattan also claimed most of the city’s 10 most expensive neighborhoods with seven entries, including the five priciest.
At the top of the list, Hudson Yards, TriBeCa and SoHo maintained their places as the most expensive neighborhood trio, with all three in the $3 million and above price range.
Specifically, Hudson Yards remained the #1 most expensive NYC neighborhood, despite a 10% Y-o-Y price drop that brought its median down from $5.71 million to $5.13 million. Although the number of sales in the city’s newest neighborhood shot up 150% — the second-sharpest increase in sales activity among the city’s top neighborhoods — in terms of actual deals, that represented an increase from just six sales in Q2 2021 to 15 in Q2 2022.
But Hudson Yards wasn’t the only Manhattan neighborhood with staggering rates of increases in sales activity. It was joined by Little Italy, the Lower East Side, Sutton Place and Turtle Bay to claim five of the 10 sharpest gains in sales activity for Manhattan of the city’s most expensive enclaves.
Still the #2 priciest neighborhood in NYC, TriBeCa retained its position with a $3,477,000 median. That came as the result of a 7% Y-o-Y appreciation of the neighborhood median, reversing the negative price trends of Q2 2021. However, TriBeCa sales declined, closing 72 sales — 21% fewer than in Q2 2021.
TriBeCa was yet again followed by SoHo, the #3 priciest neighborhood with a $3.45 million median, which was the result of a 32% Y-o-Y increase that was influenced by the larger square footage of sold homes: On average, these were 18% larger than those traded during the same period last year. Notably, sales activity was fairly stable in SoHo, with just a minor downtick of 44 registered sales in Q2 2022, as opposed to the 46 recorded in Q2 2021.
Next, Hudson Square climbed two positions to land at #4 with a $2,591,000 median sale price — this despite the fact that it logged the sharpest drop in sales activity, down 63% Y-o-Y. However, its median sale price rose 40% Y-o-Y, which lifted the median from $1,848,000 in this neighborhood that regularly finds itself in the top 10.
In fact, Hudson Square was one of four neighborhoods among the city’s 10 most expensive that surpassed the $2 million threshold compared to the same period last year. It was joined by the Flatiron District and Little Italy in Manhattan, as well as Brooklyn’s two priciest neighborhoods: Red Hook and DUMBO.
Brooklyn Claims Sharpest Price Increase as Manhattan Beach Median Surges 147% Y-o-Y
While Manhattan’s median sale price climbed 10%, Brooklyn’s median ticked down 1% Y-o-Y, dropping from $828,000 to $821,000. But, despite the borough’s median trending downward, Brooklyn was actually the scene for seven of the 10 most significant increases in neighborhood median sale prices, in addition to three of the 10 highest gains in sales activity.
Although it came in as the 29th-priciest NYC neighborhood, Brooklyn’s Manhattan Beach posted a $1,085,000 median sale price in Q2, the result of a 147% Y-o-Y surge. Thus, Manhattan Beach claimed the largest rate of price increase among the 50 most expensive neighborhoods. For comparison, just one year ago, Manhattan Beach had a $439,000 median — far from NYC’s most expensive areas.
Brooklyn further cemented its status with three additional neighborhoods: Red Hook, DUMBO and Gowanus — all three among the city’s 10 most expensive: Red Hook claimed NYC’s #6 priciest neighborhood with a $2,096,000 median that followed a 69% Y-o-Y price increase, the fourth highest among the city’s 50 most exclusive neighborhoods. That gain was fueled by a more than 600-square-foot increase in the average size of homes sold here.
Another regular member of NYC’s 50 most expensive neighborhoods, DUMBO was the #8 priciest NYC neighborhood with a $2,033,000 median after a 36% Y-o-Y increase. That gain was driven by 31 sales at 180 Front Street at a $2.35 million median sale price. However, DUMBO’s top accolade in the second quarter was its surging sales activity, which shot up 229% Y-o-Y — by far the largest increase in transactions among the city’s priciest neighborhoods.
Gowanus closed out the city’s top priciest neighborhoods at #10 with a $1,582,000 median. This was the result of the third-highest price gain among the top 50, lifting the Gowanus median 87% from $845,000 a year ago. That gain was fueled by a 16% increase in the average size of sold homes, as well as five sales at 450 Warren Street at a $1.85 million median.
Queens Sales Accelerate 20% Y-o-Y, the Sharpest Rate Among the Four Boroughs
Represented by 10 neighborhoods among the city’s most expensive, Queens price trends remained flat Y-o-Y remaining at a median sale price of $550,000. Sales activity, however, was on the rise in the borough, with 20% more deals closed in Q2 2022 than the same period last year.
In fact, Ditmars-Steinway had the fourth sharpest increase in sales activity among NYC’s top neighborhoods. However, in actual number of sales, its 138% surge translated to an increase from eight transactions in the second quarter of 2021 to 19 deals in the second quarter of this year. Ditmars also ranked as the fourth-priciest neighborhood in Queens with a $999,000 median sale price, although at the city level it came in at #34.
As is most often the case, the priciest neighborhoods from Queens placed in the bottom half of our ranking of the city’s 50 priciest neighborhoods. The most expensive neighborhood in Queens was Belle Harbour, coming in at #28 with a $1.1 million median following a 26% Y-o-Y appreciation, the result of a higher volume of sales over the $1 million mark. It was one of only three neighborhoods in the borough with medians over $1 million, joined by Hunters Point — #31 at $1,077,000 — and Hollis Hills at #33 with a $1 million median sale price.
One other Queens neighborhood that made its mark was Jamaica Estates at #44. It broke into the top 50 following a 121% Y-o-Y pricing surge that lifted its median from $418,000 to $923,000. As such, Jamaica Estates marked the second sharpest median sale price increase among the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods, surpassed only by the 147% Y-o-Y price jump posted by Brooklyn’s Manhattan Beach.
Jamaica Estates’ rapid rise was fueled by a larger share of single-family detached home sales compared to year-ago figures. That was further bolstered by a 10% increase in the square footage of sold homes, which rose to an average 2,200 square feet from a 2,005 square-foot average last year.
For more information, explore New York City’s 50 most expensive neighborhoods in Q2 2022 in the interactive table below:
| Rank | Borough | Neighborhood | Median Sale Price Q2 2022 | Y-o-Y Change | Number of Sales Q2 2022 | Y-o-Y Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manhattan | Hudson Yards | $5,130,000 | -10% | 15 | 150% |
| 2 | Manhattan | TriBeCa | $3,477,000 | 7% | 72 | -21% |
| 3 | Manhattan | SoHo | $3,450,000 | 32% | 44 | -4% |
| 4 | Manhattan | Hudson Square | $2,591,000 | 40% | 28 | -63% |
| 5 | Manhattan | Flatiron District | $2,143,000 | 11% | 196 | 45% |
| 6 | Brooklyn | Red Hook | $2,096,000 | 69% | 6 | -14% |
| 7 | Manhattan | Little Italy | $2,087,000 | 4% | 20 | 54% |
| 8 | Brooklyn | DUMBO | $2,033,000 | 36% | 92 | 229% |
| 9 | Manhattan | Chinatown | $1,650,000 | 25% | 11 | 10% |
| 10 | Brooklyn | Gowanus | $1,582,000 | 87% | 23 | -12% |
| 11 | Brooklyn | Boerum Hill | $1,550,000 | 45% | 53 | 23% |
| 11 | Manhattan | Chelsea | $1,550,000 | 5% | 207 | 18% |
| 12 | Brooklyn | Cobble Hill | $1,500,000 | 8% | 23 | -26% |
| 13 | Manhattan | Theatre District – Times Square | $1,495,000 | -14% | 63 | -2% |
| 14 | Brooklyn | Fort Greene | $1,425,000 | 49% | 30 | 36% |
| 15 | Brooklyn | Brooklyn Heights | $1,420,000 | 29% | 87 | 6% |
| 16 | Manhattan | Lower East Side | $1,407,000 | 22% | 104 | 53% |
| 17 | Brooklyn | Park Slope | $1,400,000 | 20% | 133 | -7% |
| 17 | Brooklyn | Columbia Street Waterfront District | $1,400,000 | 35% | 5 | -29% |
| 18 | Manhattan | Greenwich Village | $1,395,000 | 1% | 145 | -12% |
| 19 | Manhattan | Upper East Side | $1,318,000 | 12% | 754 | 9% |
| 20 | Brooklyn | Downtown Brooklyn | $1,288,000 | -6% | 139 | 31% |
| 21 | Brooklyn | Prospect Heights | $1,265,000 | 22% | 82 | 82% |
| 22 | Manhattan | Upper West Side | $1,250,000 | 14% | 674 | 3% |
| 22 | Manhattan | Garment District | $1,250,000 | 33% | 5 | -50% |
| 23 | Brooklyn | Greenpoint | $1,200,000 | -9% | 39 | 5% |
| 23 | Manhattan | Financial District | $1,200,000 | 10% | 119 | -2% |
| 24 | Manhattan | West Village | $1,158,000 | -35% | 64 | -22% |
| 25 | Brooklyn | Williamsburg | $1,150,000 | 3% | 128 | -21% |
| 26 | Brooklyn | Carroll Gardens | $1,140,000 | -15% | 22 | 10% |
| 27 | Manhattan | Central Midtown | $1,130,000 | 8% | 85 | 27% |
| 28 | Queens | Belle Harbor | $1,100,000 | 26% | 9 | 80% |
| 28 | Manhattan | East Village | $1,100,000 | -4% | 97 | 33% |
| 29 | Brooklyn | Manhattan Beach | $1,085,000 | 147% | 12 | 140% |
| 30 | Brooklyn | Mill Basin | $1,083,000 | 8% | 10 | 11% |
| 31 | Queens | Hunters Point | $1,077,000 | 9% | 129 | -31% |
| 32 | Manhattan | Gramercy Park | $1,043,000 | 10% | 102 | 4% |
| 33 | Queens | Hollis Hills | $1,000,000 | 10% | 9 | -10% |
| 34 | Queens | Ditmars – Steinway | $999,000 | 15% | 19 | 138% |
| 35 | Manhattan | Clinton – Hell’s Kitchen | $995,000 | 10% | 111 | 1% |
| 36 | Brooklyn | Dyker Heights | $990,000 | 13% | 25 | 14% |
| 37 | Manhattan | Turtle Bay | $978,000 | 34% | 114 | 46% |
| 38 | Queens | Fresh Meadows | $973,000 | 9% | 34 | 31% |
| 39 | Manhattan | Battery Park City | $970,000 | -17% | 36 | 0% |
| 40 | Manhattan | Roosevelt Island | $965,000 | 0% | 17 | 0% |
| 41 | Brooklyn | Greenwood Heights | $951,000 | -15% | 18 | -31% |
| 42 | Queens | Malba | $950,000 | -3% | 5 | -17% |
| 43 | Brooklyn | Bergen Beach | $925,000 | 23% | 7 | -22% |
| 44 | Queens | Jamaica Estates | $923,000 | 121% | 31 | 3% |
| 45 | Brooklyn | Windsor Terrace | $920,000 | 29% | 29 | 16% |
| 45 | Brooklyn | Borough Park | $920,000 | -6% | 84 | -2% |
| 46 | Manhattan | Harlem | $913,000 | 27% | 156 | 44% |
| 47 | Queens | Rockwood Park | $910,000 | 8% | 13 | -19% |
| 48 | Queens | Auburndale | $908,000 | 8% | 19 | -46% |
| 49 | Queens | Douglaston | $888,000 | 24% | 43 | 19% |
| 50 | Manhattan | Sutton Place | $883,000 | -2% | 100 | 49% |
Methodology
Median sale prices were calculated based on closed residential property sales recorded in ACRIS between April 1 and June 30, 2021, and April 1 and June 30, 2022. Residential asset types included single family homes, condos and co-ops. Package deals were excluded.
Median sale prices were only calculated for neighborhoods that recorded at least five sales between April 1 and June 30, 2022. Year-over-year changes in median sale prices or the number of sales were only calculated for neighborhoods that also recorded a minimum of five sales between April 1 and June 30, 2021. Additionally, median sale prices were rounded to the nearest $1,000.
The boundaries of some Manhattan neighborhoods may vary, as data on several small neighborhoods is included in stats for larger areas. For example, Central Park South is included in the Theatre District-Times Square area; NoLita is included in Little Italy; NoHo is included in Greenwich Village; and Carnegie Hill, Lenox Hill and Yorkville are all included in the Upper East Side.