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Queens rental inventory and prices steadily rising: report

26-14 Jackson Ave bed
Photo courtesy of MNS Real Estate

While it’s nowhere near the levels of Manhattan or Brooklyn, the amount of available rental apartments in Queens is steadily rising, and prices are trending upwards as well.

From February to March the rental inventory rose 6.59 percent to 889 apartments available throughout the borough, according to the MNS Real Estate’s March Queens Rental Market Report.

This marks the second consecutive monthly increase. Additionally, since MNS has been tracking the Queens rental market in August 2014, the borough’s inventory climbed from just 592 apartments.

The borough’s real estate boom is driven by popular neighborhoods, such as Long Island City and Astoria, and MNS CEO Andrew Barrocas said the inventory will continue to increase because demand is high in Queens and developers are bringing more projects here.

When inventory rises, normally prices fall, but that may not be the case long term in the Queens rental market because of the high demand, Barrocas said.

“Traditionally it does [fall],” Barrocas said, “but I think certain markets flourish when more inventory comes.”

Barrocas pointed to Long Island City, where the demand to move into the area has caused increased creation of new amenities, such as dinning and retail options, further pushing up values in the neighborhood.

The most expensive rents in the borough are, of course, in Long Island City. March rents in LIC averaged $2,385, $2,932 and $4,091 per month for studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms respectively, according to the report.

But only studios in the neighborhood saw a monthly increase in March.

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