Manhattan vs Brooklyn: A 2025 Showdown in Multifamily, Mixed-Use, and Retail Sales

If you're keeping an eye on the New York City investment market like I do (literally — it's all I eat, sleep, and breathe 😅), you're probably wondering: Who's winning in 2025 — Manhattan or Brooklyn?
I dug deep into the Q1 2025 numbers, and here’s the full breakdown:

🔵 Manhattan: Pricey, Slow-Moving, and Tough on Sellers

• Sales Volume: $431M
• Total Sold SF: 599,000 SF
• Average Sale Price: $5.7M
• Average Sale Price/SF: $963
• Cap Rate: 5.9%
• Sale vs Asking Discount: -10.7%
• Average Months to Sale: 8.1 months
• Vacancy Rate: 5.92%
• Market Rent Growth: -1.85% YoY (negative growth!)
• % Leased at Sale: 57.6% (lots of half-leased deals)

The vibe: Manhattan's smaller building market (<10,000 SF) is slow, expensive, and softening. Buyers are aggressively negotiating (getting 10%+ discounts) and rents are slipping. It’s a buyer’s market — but deals take time and underwriting is getting extra real.

🟠 Brooklyn: Cheaper, Busier, and Still Competitive

• Sales Volume: $475M (actually HIGHER than Manhattan!)
• Total Sold SF: 1.4M SF
• Average Sale Price: $2.3M
• Average Sale Price/SF: $536
• Cap Rate: 6.2%
• Sale vs Asking Discount: -8.8%
• Average Months to Sale: 11.9 months
• Vacancy Rate: 5.16%
• Market Rent Growth: -2.6% YoY (worse than Manhattan)
• % Leased at Sale: 62.7% (slightly more stabilized)

The vibe: Brooklyn feels more active but also rougher around the edges. Pricing is way more accessible ($536/SF vs Manhattan’s $963/SF) — but vacancy and rent growth trends show pressure. Deals are also taking longer to close (~12 months avg 😳).

Key Takeaways: Manhattan vs Brooklyn

• Price: Manhattan is almost double Brooklyn per square foot.
• Sales Volume: Brooklyn actually had more volume ($475M vs $431M) — first time in a while.
• Speed: Both boroughs are SLOW. Manhattan ~8 months; Brooklyn almost a full year.
• Yield: Brooklyn gives slightly better returns (6.2% vs 5.9% cap rates).
• Risk: Both markets are seeing rent softness — but Brooklyn’s asking rent decline is steeper (-2.6% vs -1.85%).
• Who's Winning? Depends — if you're chasing cash flow, Brooklyn wins. If you want stability, Manhattan’s still Manhattan.