New report reveals the one borough NYC homebuyers are leaving in droves

Brooklynites are finding greener pastures – on Staten Island. 

A whopping 12% of Brooklyn residents snagged their new home in the forgotten borough — marking the biggest cross-borough migration of 2025, according to a PropertyShark analysis of homebuyer data.

The trend was largely a product of sky high real estate prices in Kings County. The borough’s median home sale price hovered at $850,000 in the first five months of 2025 – 17% higher than the average Staten Island home, which fetched $708,000 during the same span, report author Eliza Theiss told The Post. 

Another 6% of Brooklynites bought in Queens and 4% moved to Manhattan. By contrast, 94% of Manhattanites, 95% of Queens residents, 97% of Staten Islanders and 94% of Bronx denizens bought elsewhere in their home borough, the analysis showed.

“Brooklyn is just super expensive,” said Wallace Wong, who moved to New Dorp a month ago, leaving Bath Beach in Brooklyn after 10 years.

For just over $1 million, the father-of-two, who works in operations management, was able to snag a detached, four-bedroom home with a private backyard in June.

Staten Island is a step up from Wong’s semi-detached, three-bedroom abode in Kings County, which he and his wife purchased for $760,000 nearly a decade ago and are now renting out, he said.

“I prefer the environment of Staten Island, because it feels less crowded and more rural, but it’s actually very close to the city,” said Wong, 47. “We always wanted to have a little bigger place, in terms of lot size.” 

More space was a big reason why Brooklynites began migrating to the island in droves during the pandemic, according to Staten Island realtor Tom Crimmins. 

Out of all Staten Island home sales in the first five months of 2020, Brooklynites accounted for 26% of buyers — a share that jumped to 31% by May 2021 before gradually declining, though still remaining high at 21% during the same period in 2025, according to Theiss.

“People were in apartment buildings with no backyards and they couldn’t take vacations because of everything going on, so they moved to Staten Island for more space and privacy…and it just followed suit from there,” Crimmins said.

“People come to Staten Island and they stay, because they realize, ‘Wow, this is a really nice place.’ You’ve got great communities; beautiful, tree-lined streets – all for a great price.” 

Theiss added: “Staten Island homes tend to be larger than Brooklyn homes and the single-family stock is far larger. So for someone looking for extra space — say, young families — Staten Island will be the more budget-friendly avenue with more options to choose from.” 

Nearly 25% of his sales in 2025 have been to former Brooklynites, who typically want to buy homes close to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, “because they still have lives in the city and they want to be close by,” Crimmins explained. 

And of the Brooklynites who moved to the island this year, 52% came from just four neighborhoods: Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, Borough Park and Bay Ridge, according to Theiss.

“Overall, it seems that borough-based loyalty dominated,” Theiss said.