Report: L Train Closure Finally Impacting the Brooklyn Real Estate Market

"Since the L train shutdown was announced in early 2016 there has been much hand wringing over what might happen to real estate along the affected route," according to an article by John Surico. "But for close to two years, not much happened. The area’s already-inflated prices just continued to grow and grow, as they have largely done citywide."

Now, however, come signs that the L Train's closure has begun to impact housing prices.

According to findings from StreetEasy, a real estate company that crunched its own listings data over the last two years, the number of apartments available in Williamsburg has gone up by a quarter, outpacing demand—a telling sign that many residents have started to relocate. Nearly a third of apartments have received a price cut from landlords, and another 18 percent have seen concessions offered in the form of free rent. And it’s happening across the board, not just for the ultra-lux condos that have come to define the area.

After sharing those findings from the StreetEasy study, Surico sits down for an interview with Nancy Wu, StreetEasy economic data analyst, to discuss the study and its findings in more detail.