A recent article in The New York Times examined the housing market in New York City and found that in some neighborhoods of Queens, a house rarely switches hands.
Partnering with StreetEasy, a real estate search engine, the Times found that Richmond Hill has a turnover rate of just 9 percent, and that the southern section of the neighborhood has a turnover rate that is less than 1 percent. The data comes from Department of Finance records from 2010 through 2017.
According to the article, prospective tenants who are interested in moving to Richmond Hill and other low turnover neighborhoods have a better chance of finding a home if they know the local broker. Some homeowners in Richmond Hill are also against new residents destroying historic aspects of the Victorian-style buildings, making the process much more selective.
The report also found that Ridgewood had the second lowest turnover rate, with only 3 percent of residential inventory selling. Maspeth has a 4 percent turnover rate, Glendale has a 5 percent turnover rate and Astoria has a 6 percent turnover rate.
The neighborhood with the highest turnover rate is Forest Hills (29 percent), as noted in The New York Times story. Other neighborhoods where residential inventory changes hands the most include Glen Oaks Village (27 percent), Rego Park (25 percent), Kew Gardens (24 percent) and Long Island City (24 percent).
Overall, the turnover rate in New York City from 2010 through 2017 was 15 percent.
A recent report by the Real Estate Board of New York found that Rego Park, Forest Hills and Kew Gardens experienced a 24 percent increase in cooperative sales, with 299 sales during the second quarter of 2017.
Interestingly, neighborhoods that saw the largest sales in one- to three-family homes include Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park and Woodhaven. Collectively, the area saw a 46 percent increase in home sales with 357 sales in the second quarter compared to last year.
