The number of new leases signed in northwest Queens last June is the third highest monthly total since 2011, while rental prices dropped compared to last year, according to a new report from real estate firm Douglas Elliman.
The number of new leases signed in the northwest part of the Queens borough nearly tripled year over year last month to reach 475 in total. Although numbers are falling for the second straight month, this is the largest number of new leases signed in June, the report found.
According to the same report, the heavy new leasing volume has helped stabilize rental price trends. The average rental price dropped by 1.3 percent year to year. Last June, the price was $2,913 on average compared to $2,952 last year.
As rents have shown stabilization, tenants have been more willing to sign longer lease terms in recent months. The average lease length was 16.4 months, 24 percent longer than in January when the average was 12.9 months, the report found.
The median rental price for a unit in the northwest part of Queens is identical year to year, about $2,700. However, this is the highest median rental price on the market since September 2020 — after it dropped to its lowest since 2018 in March 2020.
The report shows rental price trends continued to remain weakest in smaller apartments. On average, last June, the rental price for a studio in the area was $2,510. This is the lowest price compared to any other unit available.
The largest decline (3 percent) was in the median price for one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. On average, last year, a one-bedroom unit was at $2,782. Last June, the price dropped on average to $2,699. A two-bedroom unit was at $3,603 on average in June 2020, compared to $3,494 last month.
Landlords offering concessions in northwest Queens rose by nearly 9 percent last month when compared to May 2021. However, there was also a decrease of around 2 percent in concessions when compared to June 2020, the report found.
The market share of one-year leases was 81.8 percent back in January but fell sharply by June to 23.5 percent. Conversely, the market share of two-year leases was 13.8 percent last January but nearly quadrupled to a 68.1 percent share this June.
On top of the new lease signings records, the report also shows sales records in the northwest part of the borough.
Average sales price and median sales price reach records for the third straight quarter while the number of sales more than doubled from the same period last year. Median sales price jumped 12 percent to a record $680,000, and average sales price jumped 8.2 percent to a record $715,062 respectively from the same period last year.
Price gains also set records across property types. The median sales price of a condo rose 6.7 percent to a record of $704,481, and the median sales price for a one- to three-family increased 11.7 percent to a record of $799,000 respectively from the same period last year.
For the full report, visit www.elliman.com/corporate-resources/market-reports.
