Luxury Buyers Are Shelling Out Millions to Live Next to Green-Wood Cemetery
One of the country’s most high-profile cemeteries is proving to be a powerful lure for well-heeled buyers who prefer a little spooky with their luxury accommodations.
The Bellrose, a new 40-unit boutique condominium overlooking Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, is helping usher in a new phase of the leafy Greenwood Heights neighborhood.
Offering more value than its tony cousin, Park Slope, the neighborhood adjacent to the 478-acre historic cemetery is coming into its own as a luxury home destination.
“Everywhere you look now, there’s construction,” Jessica Peters of Douglas Elliman tells Realtor.com. “That was not the case a few years ago.”
Peters is handling sales in The Bellrose, a newly-built luxury condo three blocks from the cemetery, with a roof deck and top two floors offering views of the storied graveyard and its grand Gothic arches.
Prices range from $795,000 for a one-bedroom to $2.2 million for a three-bedroom, with eight of the 40 units under contract.
“I’ve seen a huge demand for the larger units,” Peters tells Realtor.com. “Our three-bedrooms are selling like hotcakes.”
She notes that many buyers are either priced out of nearby Park Slope—with its median of $1,377 per square foot versus Greenwood Heights’ $1,200—or simply want that extra bedroom at a more affordable price.
The agent, who has been repping real estate in the neighborhood for around a decade, says there was a time in the not-too-distant past where those who could afford million-dollar-plus condos wouldn’t “teeter into Greenwood,” but that time is quickly passing.
Unexpected amenity: Cemetery adjacent
Founded in 1838, Green-Wood Cemetery is the permanent resting place for many of New York City’s most illustrious residents, including composer Leonard Bernstein, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, former New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, and Henry Bergh, founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
In a city where wide open spaces are a rare and coveted perk, the cemetery offers something even the nearby Prospect Park doesn’t: natural rolling hills (it was founded before the surrounding areas were leveled to carve out streets); quiet communing with nature without birthday parties, barbecues, and romping dogs; and grand mausoleums belonging to the city’s most prominent families.
The cemetery is open to the public for strolling, and also offers public events such as bird watching, trolley and walking tours, and educational opportunities.
“It’s been one of our biggest attractions,” Peters says of the cemetery. “Just the entrance alone is drop dead gorgeous and photo worthy.”
She notes that a handful of home shoppers have even told her, “We want views of the cemetery. If you don’t have them, we’re probably not interested.”
But she acknowledges that burial grounds, no matter how pretty, may not be on everyone’s dream home wishlist.
“Some people won’t be interested in being near a cemetery,” she says. “But if there isn’t a superstition around it, I find that people love the birds, the trees, the greenery. They aren’t looking at it in a morbid way.”
Up-and-coming: Greenwood Heights
For years, Greenwood Heights has been an overlooked enclave in the shadow of Park Slope’s regal brownstones, bustling retail corridors, and Prospect Park adjacency.
But the neighborhood’s desirable location is making it ripe picking for luxury residential developers.
Beyond the cemetery, the neighborhood abuts the 35-acre commercial behemoth Industry City, as well as the southern stretch of Brooklyn’s Fifth Avenue, which is transforming with more high-end retail options. Then there is the comparable value.
“You’re getting in at a good time when there is still growth and appreciation,” Peters says of the neighborhood. “I’ve noticed restaurant owners are more interested in opening up in the area because of the affordability and opportunity. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a restaurant boom along Fifth Avenue in the near future.”
The Bellrose is one of the few full-service condos in the area, boasting not only a full-time door attendant but a gym, lounge area, children’s playroom, bike storage, and parking for purchase.
Additionally, there’s a 4,000-square foot roof deck with pergola, two BBQ grill stations, and solar panels that run part of the common area electrical. The landscaping uses irrigated naturally-growing plant life, so that the greenery does well under Brooklyn’s eclectic weather patterns.
Due to the area’s natural height, The Bellrose, at only five stories, offers views not only of the cemetery, but the East River, Statue of Liberty, and the lower Manhattan skyline. (The cemetery’s Battle Hill is the borough’s highest natural point.)
HOA fees are relatively reasonable: the largest unit, at 1,475 square feet, has a monthly common charge of only $876.01 (minus taxes).
While sales have been strong, the agent says they haven’t exactly been brisk.
“Everything is selling at the asking price but buyers are being more methodical,” she says, noting that interested shoppers sometimes come back multiple times before contracting. “We’re doing incredibly well, it’s just that the decision-making is taking way longer than it used to.”
Indeed, the neighborhood’s median days on market has risen 45.31% month-over-month, or 42 more days. Nationally, it’s only 3 days, according to Realtor.com data. No doubt the slowdown is at least partly related to the uptick in mortgage rates, currently hovering at 7.33% for a 30-year loan.
Another glitch has been the building’s glass exterior. Some neighbors have left scathing reviews of the building, complaining that birds are colliding with the building’s sleek glass exterior.
The problem is a common one in the city, where 90,000 to 230,000 birds are killed each year flying into windows and glass facades, according to a 2024 study. And over well over one billion annually die in collisions all over the country.
“We hear the neighbors. We’re very much upset about what’s happening,” says Peters, who serves on the board of animal rescue group NYC Second Chance Rescue. “We’re working toward a solution.”
Slowdown aside, the appeal of the neighborhood is catching on. According to Realtor.com data, Greenwood Heights has seen a nearly 25% year-over-year decline in active listings, suggesting the neighborhood’s supply is tightening considerably.
“We’re a good value buy,” she says. “We’re in a neighborhood that is already established but continuing to evolve.”
“There’s something really special happening in Greenwood Heights,” she adds. “It’s one of those places that, once people discover it, they really fall in love with it.”
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