Brooklyn, long seen as the less expensive New York borough when compared to Manhattan, could soon be losing that reputation as thanks to a market that’s running short of inventory. Although there’s a lot of demand for homes in Brooklyn, home hunters in the borough are finding that there just aren’t enough vacant apartments for them to move into, thereby giving sellers the upper hand in .

According to the latest Elliman report on the Brooklyn sales market, the last quarter of 2012 saw the median sales price rise 12.8% from its value during the same period in 2011. In fact, the median price of $512,500 is the highest price seen in the market since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Inventory in the borough dropped 20.7% as compared to prior year levels, and analysts in the real estate sector expect this trend is expected to continue through the course of 2013 as well.

According to a report in Crain’s New York Business, this shortage of apartments in the market is the reason for the increased popularity of open houses in Brooklyn. The report mentions the example of a townhouse in Brooklyn, whose open house had 120 people come in to take a look at the house. With competition for homes in Brooklyn as severe as it is, apartment hunters will now need to be extremely quick when making decisions on where to live.