DATA DROP - OPEN HOUSE QUESTIONS
Last updated: November 3, 2026
This post is part of the Decode Data Drop, my weekly series where I pull the real numbers behind New York real estate and share what they actually mean for buyers. Receipts, not vibes. A new drop goes up every Thursday on Instagram, so follow along at @katiekeatejohnson to catch the next one.
This fall, three questions kept coming up at open houses. Did higher rates slow buyers down? Is the BQE news hurting Brooklyn Heights? And do small elevator buildings cost more to own? Everyone had an opinion. Nobody had the numbers.
So I pulled every co-op and condo contract signed in Brooklyn and Manhattan this fall, compared it with the same weeks of 2025, and looked at new development buildings since 2024. Here is what the data actually says.
Quick Overview
24 fewer Brooklyn contracts under $1M after rates crossed 7%, compared with the same weeks last year. The deals that did happen moved about as fast.
29 to 40 contracts in Brooklyn Heights since the BQE plan was announced, up while the four neighborhoods around it fell from 85 to 49.
$0.55 vs. $0.57 per square foot in monthly common charges: small elevator buildings cost about the same as walk-ups. Doorman buildings are what cost more.
The Numbers
Did higher rates slow buyers down?
Brooklyn and Manhattan co-ops and condos · Contracts signed Sep 24 to Oct 20 vs. the same weeks of 2025 · By price band
Rates crossed 7% the week of September 24. Brooklyn under $1M matched last year until then, and after it signed 24 fewer deals (139 vs. 163). Manhattan’s top end didn’t flinch: $4M+ contracts went from 91 to 93.
Fewer deals, not slower ones
Median days on market at contract · Same weeks, 2025 vs. 2026
The deals that did happen moved as fast as last year or faster. Manhattan $4M+ went from 81 days to 28. The one band that slowed was Brooklyn under $1M, from 57 days to 63, about a week. The rate hit shows up in how many buyers signed, not how quickly.
Is the BQE news hurting Brooklyn Heights?
Contracts since the Aug 24 BQE plan · Brooklyn Heights vs. four neighbors
Since the city announced its $4 billion BQE plan, Brooklyn Heights signed 40 contracts vs. 29 in the same weeks last year, and deals went into contract 11 days faster (36 days vs. 47). Park Slope, DUMBO, Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill combined fell from 85 contracts to 49.
Same building, lower price?
Brooklyn Heights · 2025 closed sale vs. 2026 asking price, same building and bedroom count
Across the same-building pairs, 2026 asking prices are running a median of about 3% above 2025 sales. Final prices usually land a few percent under ask, so call it flat. No BQE discount.
Want an elevator but not a doorman?
Brooklyn new development since 2024 · By building type
Of 573 new buildings, 304 are walk-ups, 187 have an elevator and no doorman, and 82 have a doorman. Greenpoint and North Williamsburg have the most elevator buildings without a doorman (25 each). In Park Slope, it is almost all walk-ups.
Do small elevator buildings cost more?
New 2-bedroom condos, 850 to 1,150 sq ft · Median monthly common charges per sq ft
Not really. Walk-ups run $0.57 a square foot, small elevator buildings (15 units or fewer) $0.55, and mid-size elevator buildings (16 to 40 units) $0.59. The jump comes with staff: large elevator buildings run $0.87, and doorman buildings a median $0.83 vs. $0.57 without one. On a 1,000 sq ft 2-bedroom, that is about $300 a month.
Good to Know
Same weeks, every year. Fall listings always move faster than summer ones, so every comparison here uses the same weeks of 2025 as the baseline. Otherwise the post-Labor Day rush looks like a rate effect.
Contracts, not closings. These are contracts signed, so recent weeks can be a little undercounted while agents report deals.
I cleaned the data. I removed duplicate listings and left out listings with reset list dates, which make deals look faster than they were.
Small samples are small. Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill only had 4 to 5 deals this fall, so treat their day counts as directional.
Asking is not selling. The same-building comparison uses 2026 asking prices for units in contract. We will see the real sale prices once they close.
Source: RealPlus / REBNY RLS, co-ops and condos, data through October 22, 2026. Rates: Freddie Mac 30-year fixed.
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If you are financing under $1M in Brooklyn, this is a quieter market than last fall. Fewer buyers are signing, which gives you a little more room to negotiate. Use it.
If you have been waiting for a Brooklyn Heights discount because of the BQE, I would not count on one. Buyers there are signing more deals than last year, at roughly last year’s prices.
And if you want an elevator but not a doorman fee, the small elevator building is a real option, especially in Greenpoint and North Williamsburg. It is the staff, not the elevator, that drives your monthly bill.
What questions do you want real answers for?
Send me the question you can’t get a straight answer on, about a building, a neighborhood, or the market. I’ll dig into the data and reply with real numbers, no sales pitch. The best ones become a future Data Drop.
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