The average rent prices in Bushwick dropped by 16 percent for the month of August. This is drastically lower compared to same period last year, according to a report.
Average rental rates in the Bushwick neighborhood declined to $2,090, reports DNAinfo, from the $2,485 monthly rent recorded in August 2014. The findings were from real estate firm MNS' Brooklyln Rental Market Report. The decline in average rental price is the biggest drop from amongst other Brooklyn neighborhoods surveyed by MNS, which included Crown Heights, Bay Ridge, Greenpoint, Boerum Hill, Dumbo and many others. The dramatic drop was reportedly due to the huge number of apartments that went on the market last month. For Bushwick, inventory of rental properties rose from two to four times the number of apartments that were posted in August last year.
The DNAinfo report also mentioned that high rentals in luxury rental properties spiked the average rent rate last year such as 1209 Dekalb, according to Andrew Barrocas, CEO of MNS. Currently, two bedroom units in the luxury property reportedly starts at around $3,150. However, the MNS CEO shared that the Bushwick's rental market has grown in the last year and that it would be difficult to compare rent prices. He said, "There's a tremendous amount of demand. There's [now] supply to meet that demand."
Barrocas added that one of the factors which may have affected the decrease in Bushwick's average rent prices would be the new apartments which cropped up near Myrtle Avenue or those closer to the J/M/Z train area. Despite the drop in average rental rates, the alarming number of vacant apartments in the Bushwick neighborhood is not a good indicator for residents hoping to keep rental fees at the low level. Barrocas explained that a majority of the available apartments are from landlords who renovated their rental units or those that built new property in the neighborhood. The MNS CEO warned, "Rental prices on newly available units in Bushwick are expected to steadily rise."
Meanwhile, in total, the average rental rates for the month of August increased by 0.68 percent in Brooklyn, as compared to July, states MNS. In July, the average rent price was $2,730.18, lower than August's $2,748.87. On an annual basis, the average rent remained stable at 0.26 percent, from August 2014's $2,741.66. Inventory levels also increased by 1.69 percent, from July's 4,086 rental units to August's 4,155 units.
