BROOKLYN — The average Brooklyn home price declined 18 percent in the second quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year, but sales volume picked up slightly in the second quarter compared to the first quarter of 2009, according to the Brooklyn-based real estate appraisal firm HMS Associates.

The average home price in Brooklyn during the second quarter of 2009 was $548,560, 18 percent less than $670,419 in the same period last year, the HMS report showed.

There were a total of 545 sales during the second quarter of 2009, an 8 percent increase in activity over the first quarter of 2009.

“Prices continued to decline, which is no surprise, but there was a slight pickup in the sales activity from the first quarter to second quarter of this year so far,� said Sam Heskel, executive vice president of HMS. “Because sellers have been more realistic and prices have come down, we are seeing more activity as buyers feel more comfortable making offers.

This could indicate that the market is bottoming out and that the downward trend is approaching its end, according to Heskel.

Volume is still dramatically down from last year, HMS reports. The 545 sales in the second quarter of 2009 is 52 percent less than the same period last year, when there were 1,145 sales.

The price drop was consistent in virtually every neighborhood in Brooklyn, marking a difference from just a few months ago when the borough’s average price fell but some neighborhoods were still seeing modest price increases, according to Heskel.

In Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill, where prices were still increasing last quarter, the average home price was just 1 percent higher compared to the same period last year, and sales volume was down 62 percent.

In Greenpoint, which also showed price increases last quarter, the average home price dropped 20 percent and sales volume was down 15 percent.

“If you are able to come up with the financing, there is a lot of inventory out there and lower prices in neighborhoods that are still very strong, so it can be a good time to buy,� Heskel said.

The home price figures and sales volume come from HMS’s comprehensive quarterly study of 15 representative neighborhoods in Brooklyn and include one-, two-, three-, and four-family homes, condos and co-ops.

The neighborhoods included in the report together are deemed a fair reflection of what is happening in the Brooklyn real estate market as a whole, according to Heskel.

Almost every neighborhood saw a price decline, the quarterly report showed. The only exceptions were Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill, with its 1 percent increase to an average home price of $933,438 and Fort Greene, where the average home price remained statistically the same at $911,538.

The steepest price declines were in the combined neighborhood of DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn and Boerum Hill, where prices fell 22 percent to $754,000, and in Sheepshead Bay, where prices also fell 22 percent to $263,200, according to the report.

The complete report will be posted at www.hmsassociates.net/marketingreports.

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