Our most recent investigation into housing and real estate took place in Jackson Heights, a multi-ethnic neighborhood with diverse architecture to match.
The first office we stopped by was the JH Landmark Realty Corporation (77-15 37th Avenue), a small company that shares space with Daniel Dromm for City Council and Numael Granados’ income tax and insurance services. William Marquez, a licensed realtor, was more than happy to talk with us.
“People are moving out of this area,” Marquez said. “Here, it’s more expensive…People are going to Long Island.” He pointed out that there are more affordable areas in Woodhaven and Corona.
And yet, Marquez said, there’s a steady business in people actually coming into the 11372 zip code, with JH Landmark selling at least “five houses per week.” He added, “We’re doing okay.”
But Marquez said the prices of houses (he specified that JH Landmark sells houses, not apartments) are going down, specifically in Jackson Heights. “Everything’s down, under the market value,” he noted.
Francisco J. Rovito, a broker associate with Re/Max (71-15 Northern Boulevard) disagreed. “The prices haven’t changed that much in Jackson Heights…There’s still a lot of demand…Inventory is really low.”
Rovito said that Re/Max specializes in one- to six-family homes. But he did notice an uptick in apartment sales. “The co-op market is pretty strong right now…The market is up because people can’t afford houses.”
Location is everything, Rovito asserted. And why are people buying in Jackson Heights?
“The area will always be strong because of the close proximity to Manhattan,” he said. The Re/Max office is only a few blocks away from the Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street subway stop, where people can easily arrive in Manhattan in minutes via the 7, E, F, R and V lines.
The diverseness of the neighborhood is growing with the groups that Marquez and Rovito identified as big property buyers of late. Marquez mentioned an influx of Indians and Chinese while Rovito referred to a sizable population of Greeks, Italians, Spanish and Chinese. He added that many Bangladeshis have moved into the area around 74th Street over the past five to 10 years.
Another group Rovito said has moved into the neighborhood is the Nepalese, due, he said, to governmental and political unrest in Nepal.
With new immigrant communities continuing to form in Jackson Heights, it seems that Rovito, Marquez and other real estate brokers in this northwestern Queens community will remain busy for a long time to come.
