Brooklyn retail report: increases in *asking* rents along Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Heights

Brooklyn retail rents are “starting to flatten”: REBNY, the Real Deal reported 4/18/19, citing a new report from the Real Estate Board of New York, noting that rent increases were visible along "Flatbush Avenue between Fifth Avenue and Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Heights," which is, of course, near the Barclays Center.

At 461 Dean

Actually, if you talk to people in the know, or just look at the empty spaces at the Barclays Center perimeter and down the block at 461 Dean and Heritage Dean Street, it seems like a very mixed bag, especially since the report assesses asking rents, not actual rents achieved.

Let's take a closer look.  From the full report:

PROSPECT HEIGHTS On Flatbush Avenue, between Fifth Avenue and Grand Army Plaza, the average asking rent rose six percent year-over-year to $139 psf. This increase is attributed to an increased amount of new retail activity occurring along the corridor throughout 2018. Demand for retail space on Flatbush Avenue remains high despite most of the prime spaces, and even some older retail listings, being currently leased out.

PARK SLOPE The average asking rent for available ground floor retail space on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, between Union Street and Ninth Street, increased two percent to $117 psf in winter 2019 compared to the winter of 2018. By the same token, the Fifth Avenue ground floor average asking rent, between Union Street and Ninth Street, also remained flat year-over-year at $95 psf. Most Park Slope retail tenants are food services ranging from restaurants to grab-and-go stores, while the remaining uses are neighborhood service-related such as fitness facilities, nail salons, and dry cleaning.

Note that final lease numbers surely have some flex in them.

Note that the range of asking rents in Prospect Heights is far more variable than in Park Slope, which has a larger, and more affluent, residential core. I suspect the very high asking rents--up to $226--reflect proximity to the arena and/or specific large spaces. The average and median numbers are pretty close.