With the wave of new developments rising in northwest Queens, it’s not surprising that rent has become more expensive there than the notoriously pricey Brooklyn.
According to a report released by real estate firm Douglas Elliman and appraisal firm Miller Samuel, the average rents for one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments have all risen since last year. Only studios in northwest Queens slightly decreased in price.
You can now expect to pay an average of $2,781 for a one-bedroom in Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside and Woodside. During the same time last year, an average one-bedroom apartment cost $2,770.
Two-bedroom apartments will now set you back an average of $3,706 compared to $3,620 last year. The average price for a three-bedroom apartment rose 17.9 percent to $5,069.
Studio apartments saw a 4.2 percent decrease in average price with $2,430.
In comparison, a studio in Brooklyn will cost an average of $2,350. One-, two- or three-bedroom apartments cost an average of $2,765, $3,490 and $4,665, respectively.
According to the report, the influx of new development rentals in northwest Queens skewed prices higher. The inventory of rentals jumped 57 percent from 298 in August 2015 to 468 in August 2016. The median price for rentals in northwest Queens is now equal to Brooklyn median rent, the report found.
A number of new developments will rise in Long Island City in the next year including this tower on 36th Street and two residential buildings where the former 5Pointz graffiti mecca used to stand.
Construction doesn’t seem to be subsiding in these neighborhoods and the entire borough has seen an increase in home sales prices this year. The notion that Queens is one of the more affordable boroughs in the city is slowly vanishing, especially after it was named the best travel destination by Lonely Planet in 2015.
