With many New Yorkers avoiding the subways this past year, rents for apartments above major train stations, including several in Queens, saw a severe drop in price during the first quarter of 2021, a new report found.
Rents decreased in the areas immediately surrounding 418 of the city’s 473 subway stops from January 2021 until the end of March 2021, according to the report from RentHop. In Queens, the biggest drop came around the M train’s Forest Avenue stop in Ridgewood, where the median rent for one-bedroom apartments dropped by over 21 percent year-over-year.
Renting for $1,800 on average, the one-bedroom apartments’ drop in price around the Forest Avenue stop was among the top five biggest declines in pricing across the city.
However, of the top five stops that saw the largest decreases in median rent, four were in Manhattan, including the 66th St./Lincoln Center, 81st St., and both Delancey St./Essex St. stations.
Many of the largest drops in Queens came in the areas where the rents were already the most expensive in the borough, including in Astoria and Long Island City, according to the report.
The N/W line in Astoria saw year-over-year drops around every station – the most drastic coming at the 39th Avenue stop, where the median price for a one-bedroom apartment fell by around 20 percent to $2,523, the report said.
However, there were some stops where rent increased during the first quarter of this year, including the Far Rockaway/Mott Avenue stop of the A train, where one-bedroom apartments rented for 4.5 percent higher when compared to the first quarter of 2020, according to the report.
Other stations where rent increased included 167th St. along the B/D trains, 238th St. along the 1 train, New Lots Ave. along the 3 and 4 trains and 183rd St. and Fordham Rd. along the 4 train.
In total, 35 stops experienced an increase in rent and 20 stayed the same.
For the full report, click here.
