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Three Queens neighborhoods make list of NYC areas to watch in 2018

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Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Raman Patel

All eyes on the Flushing, Elmhurst and Woodside real estate markets in the new year, according to a recent report.

The three Queens locales made real estate site StreetEasy’s roundup of the 10 New York City neighborhoods to watch in 2018. Buyers, renters and sellers should keep their eye out for an increased interest and rising prices in each of these neighborhoods.

Flushing, which has seen a huge share of the borough’s residential developments in recent years, took the No. 3 slot. The neighborhood saw a median sale price of $737,455 and $2,000 median rent price in 2017.

Page views for Flushing listings on the site grew 80 percent since last year — the highest number for any neighborhood that made the list. The eastern Queens neighborhood saw 35 new residential projects in 2017, according to New York City Department of Buildings data.

In Elmhurst, which sits at No. 4, year-over-year median sale price growth was significant, with a 40 percent increase to just over $590,000. The median rent in 2017 was $1,913, most affordable of the three Queens neighborhoods that made the list.

Taking the last spot on the roundup was Woodside, which recorded a 2017 median sale price of $390,000 and $2,000 median rent. The western Queens neighborhood saw a 65-percent increase in listing views year over year and eight new residential projects, according to city data.

The allure of these outer-borough neighborhoods may lie in the “one-neighborhood-over theory,” according to StreetEasy. Elmhurst and Woodside are located close to the coveted neighborhoods of Long Island City and Astoria, but offer more affordable options. All three Queens neighborhoods on the list are also near the 7 train, offering a convenient transportation option into Manhattan.

West Harlem in Manhattan and Fort Greene in Brooklyn took the No. 1 and 2 spots on the list, respectively. Norwood in the Bronx also made the list at No. 6.

“Neighborhoods like West Harlem, Woodside and Prospect Park South, which have long been outshined by their popular neighbors, are finally taking the spotlight in 2018,” StreetEasy Senior Economist Grant Long said. “As New Yorkers seek to balance affordability with convenience, these nearby neighborhoods are seeing a surge of interest, growing prices and an influx of new development.”

The study was conducted on four main factors: annual change in median sales and rent price, listing views on StreetEasy and the amount of new construction in the neighborhood.