Through fall 2025 Carroll Gardens continued to show the Hallmarks of a desirable brownstone neighborhood — limited supply, high price-per-square-foot, and active rental demand — even as overall buyer activity in NYC softened seasonally. Median listing and sale prices drifted lower month-to-month in some sources (reflecting small-sample volatility and product mix), while rents and leasing activity remained firm across the Carroll Gardens / Gowanus / Red Hook cluster.
Market Performance
Prices:
Different data providers show slightly different medians because Carroll Gardens’ market is thin (townhouses + small condos/co-ops) and single high-end sales swing neighborhood averages. Street-level listings and published reports showed median listing prices in the low-to-mid $2M range in early autumn; Redfin’s neighborhood page showed medians around $1.9–$2.0M in recent months, while Realtor’s neighborhood overview reported a median listing around $2.6M in September 2025. Expect variation of several hundred thousand dollars month-to-month depending on whether a handful of townhouses trade.
Sales & inventory:
Contract activity in Brooklyn broadly picked up in Q3 and early fall even with elevated mortgage rates, but sales volumes in some Brooklyn segments dipped into late fall while inventory remained constrained. Local Brooklyn market writeups (Corcoran / Inhabit) showed sales declines in some months but also noted a tightening of quality inventory and higher price-per-square-foot for selective product. Carroll Gardens specifically saw fewer transactions than larger Brooklyn submarkets, which magnifies price swings and keeps the neighborhood a seller-advantaged location when desirable homes are listed.
Sales & inventory:
Contract activity in Brooklyn broadly picked up in Q3 and early fall even with elevated mortgage rates, but sales volumes in some Brooklyn segments dipped into late fall while inventory remained constrained. Local Brooklyn market writeups (Corcoran / Inhabit) showed sales declines in some months but also noted a tightening of quality inventory and higher price-per-square-foot for selective product. Carroll Gardens specifically saw fewer transactions than larger Brooklyn submarkets, which magnifies price swings and keeps the neighborhood a seller-advantaged location when desirable homes are listed.
Rentals and Leasing
Rental demand in Carroll Gardens / Gowanus / Red Hook remained resilient through October — one of the few Brooklyn submarkets that showed notable rent growth during the period in borough reports — and Corcoran’s rental snapshots flagged leasing activity reaching highs in October across parts of Brooklyn. Average asking rents in the Carroll Gardens cluster consistently stayed above many other Brooklyn neighborhoods, reflecting the neighborhood’s lifestyle appeal and proximity to downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan commutes.
What drove performance this fall
- • Low visible inventory / product mix: Carroll Gardens is dominated by brownstones and small elevator buildings, so the monthly market is a small sample size — a few townhouse closings can swing medians. That structural scarcity keeps values supported even when overall buyer urgency dips.
- • Macro headwinds: Elevated mortgage rates nationwide and a cautious buyer profile reduced the pool of rate-sensitive buyers, which produced more negotiation room on marginal listings and lengthened time-to-contract for higher-priced, fixer townhouses. Nonetheless, buyers with stronger financing continued to transact.
- • Seasonality: The period from late November into December traditionally slows for NYC sales; that seasonal cooling was visible in December activity and listing cadence. Some national and NYC monthly reports noted a seasonal slowdown but an otherwise resilient borough-level demand.
Neighborhood-specific Market Insights for Buyers & Sellers
For buyers: Bring proof of funds and flexible timing. You’ll get more negotiating power on properties that need work or have been on market through the seasonal slowdown, but be prepared to pay market premiums for turnkey brownstones in prime blocks. Consider rental comps if you plan to hold as an income property: rents in the cluster stayed resilient in fall 2025.
For sellers: Price to the comparable mix (townhouse vs. condo/co-op). Well-staged, move-in-ready townhouses and renovated brownstone condos still command premiums — marketing that highlights outdoor space, updated kitchens/baths, and work-from-home layouts performs best. Because inventory is small, a single well-executed listing can get outsized attention.
Market Outlook
Expect a balanced-to-slightly-favorable seller market in Carroll Gardens through the winter because supply is structurally limited. Macro forces (rates, broader NYC employment trends) will continue to set the ceiling for price recovery or further downward pressure; however, the neighborhood’s scarcity, strong rental demand, and appeal to owner-occupiers mean it is likely to outperform broader, less-desirable submarkets of Brooklyn.
Watch for early 2026 indicators: inventory movement on StreetEasy Data Dashboard and borough monthly reports will be the best early signals of a seasonal rebound or continued cooling.
Redfin — Carroll Gardens housing market →
PropertyShark — Carroll Gardens market trends →
Corcoran / Inhabit (Brooklyn condo & co-op sales, Q3–Oct 2025) →
