A new Douglas Elliman report released last week found that northwest Queens rental prices increased slightly from October to November.
The average rental price in November was $3,402, a 16.7% increase compared to last year’s rental price of $2,914. In October of this year, reports indicated the average rental price in northwest Queens was approximately $3,323.
Elliman economist Jonathan Miller said that they are seeing rents level off since peaking in July.
“I suspect it’s because we have reached an ‘affordability threshold’ where consumers are at their max,” Miller said.
The Douglas Elliman report also found that there were only 289 new listings in northwest Queens for the month of November, a 25.3% decrease compared to the previous month.
According to Elliman economists, there has been heavy demand for listings for the past 18 months, and the inventory has been unable to keep up.
As far as hoping for any affordability in rental prices, Elliman economists say: don’t hold your breath.
“I don’t think we will see a significant improvement in affordability shortly,” Miller said. “High mortgage rates have helped keep rents elevated as buyers that were priced out move into rentals.”
Hal D. Gavzie, a real estate broker with Douglas Elliman, agreed.
“Expect to see rents continue to soften slightly over the next few months,” Gavzie said. “[We’re] likely to see landlord concessions continue to rise during slow rental months ahead. Unless we see major job losses, don’t expect rents to decrease significantly.”
