‘The Market Is Saturated': Brooklyn's Rental Boom May Turn Into a Glut

There are so many new apartments in the neighborhood -- roughly one-fifth of all rental units expected to become available in the city in 2016 and 2017, according to Nancy Packes Data Services, a research firm -- that the Brooklyn rental market seems poised to zoom right past boom, to glut.

"The market is saturated," said Sofia Estevez, executive vice president at the developer TF Cornerstone, which will begin offering apartments in a 25-story, 714-unit rental building at 33 Bond Street next spring. "I think it'll take a couple years to stabilize."

And just as overbuilding along Billionaires' Row around 57th Street in Manhattan has caused prices to soften in the highest-end market, the construction boom in this stretch of Brooklyn has prompted landlords to strike deals to fill their buildings, which dwarf the surrounding brownstones, rowhouses and tenements.

At 7 DeKalb, a new 23-story tower atop the City Point mall complex, the landlord is offering two months of free rent with a 14-month lease, and use of the building's fitness center and other amenities for a year without charge. That means a one-bedroom, one-bathroom place can be had for $3,428 a month; a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment goes for $5,057.