N. 4th St. between Driggs Avenue and Kent Avenue had the largest increase in retail rental prices over the last year, where prices increased by 34 percent according to a REBNY study that looked at 16 of Brooklyn’s “prime retail corridors,” The Real Deal reports. Williamsburg’s N. 4th Street has seen a proliferation of corporate chains set up shop over the past couple of years including Whole Foods, Levis, Scotch & Soda, and Chipotle.
Still, on nearby Bedford Avenue between Grand Street and N. 8th St. prices decreased by 11 percent to $351 per square foot. Rents in Williamsburg may drop further after the L train shuts down between Manhattan and Brooklyn for 15 months beginning in April 2019.
In Greenpoint, Franklin Street between Meserole Avenue and Commercial Street saw no change in the $74 per square foot price for groundfloor retail since last year, according to the study.
On the residential side, inventory of available apartment rentals in Williamsburg grew by 72 percent and in Bushwick 110 percent in October 2018 compared with October 2017, a new StreetEasy study found.
To add to the notable growth of rental stock, the impending L train shutdown so far has only resulted in a 1 percent drop in rental demand in Williamsburg since October 2017.
Rental demand grew in Greenpoint by 1 percent and in Bushwick by 2 percent since last year the study also found. The article points out that renters now have more leverage in L train dependent neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Bushwick, citing the example of a “luxury” apartment that has sat unrented since last spring despite price reductions:
As a case in point, this East Williamsburg luxury 2-bedroom went on the market for an eye-watering $4,100 in April 2018, one year ahead of the L train shutdown, and on the market it has stayed — for six months. Currently, the unit is priced at $3,299 — nearly a 20 percent cut from the original asking price. This is still $300 above Williamsburg’s current median of $3,000, which hasn’t budged in a year, even as rents rise elsewhere.