Is the rent too damn low in Queens? Not quite, but average rental prices in the “World’s Borough” plunged by nearly 11 percent over the last year, according to a report from Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
Median rents were down 10.7 percent in Queens year-over-year while overall inventory was also down 11.9 percent, the report noted. The average rental price in June was $2,749, or $40.15 per square foot. Last June, the average rent was $2,896, or $45.69 per square foot.
The report, which analyzed the market in northwest Queens, reflected overall “weaker results” in that region. Results, however, “were mixed across apartment sizes as median rental prices of studio and three-bedroom [units] were higher, while one- and two-bedroom apartments were lower respectively.”
Landlords also had to wait longer to rent out their units, as the average number of days on the market increased from 31 to 36 days over the last year.
Even with the nearly 11 percent dip, renting an apartment in Queens isn’t exactly cheap. The average studio apartment in June 2015 went for $2,348, while the average apartment with three or more bedrooms was $10 shy of $4,000.
While the rental market took a hit, sales in Queens were strong during the second quarter in 2015, Douglas Elliman reported. The median sales price rose 8.5 percent to $385,001 over the last year, marking “the fourth consecutive quarterly increase and the 10th gain in the past 12 quarters.”
The median co-op price rose 5.4 percent to $215,000, while the condo median prices surged by 12.8 percent to a new record of $468,000. The median price for a one- to three-family home also spiked by 6.3 percent to $510,000.
Further reflecting a sellers’ market, the inventory of available one- to three-family homes, as well as co-ops and condominiums, dropped 12.6 percent. Sales increased 5.6 percent, and the average time on market for listings dropped to 92 days, down from 110 at the same time last year.
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