New York Times Eyes Kensington As The Next Big (And Still Affordable) Neighborhood
Image via Kensington Brooklyn Blog
Like the Wall Street Journal before it, the New York Times has set its sights on Kensington as one of Brooklyn’s next major growth neighborhoods, and in particular, as a hub for families who don’t necessarily have Park Slope levels of income to drop on a home.
And they seem to have a real point here: while not exactly what I’d call “cheap,” Kensington’s housing prices are a lot more reasonable than you’d find in most Prospect Park-adjacent neighborhoods, though they’ve been rising, of course. Right now, single family homes go for between $750,000 to $950,000, a one-bedroom apartment would run between $250,000 to $300,000, and average rent for a studio or one-bedroom is about $1,500 a month. It feels particularly reasonable when you think about the neighborhood’s stock of “detached and semidetached wood-frame Victorian homes,” as opposed to say, the quality level you’d find in ever-expensive Bushwick.
It also seems less likely to be utterly cannibalized as a neighborhood. “This is very much a dynamic neighborhood, as opposed to rich people coming in and pushing everyone out,” a JMKBK broker explained. “There’s a lot of competition to be in the neighborhood. Kensington is the last affordable neighborhood before you get to Windsor Terrace and Park Slope if you’re trying to move closer to the city.”
It’s also one of the most genuinely diverse neighborhoods in the borough—it includes significant Russian, Bengali, Mexican, Pakistani, Ukrainian, Haitian, Polish, and Hasidic communities—and the home to Brooklyn Banya. So, for once after reading a Times trend piece, I’m sold. If anyone would like to spot me 800K, I’d pack up and move today.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.
