Queens has become the place to be.
According to brokers and realtors, the borough’s rental market prices have seen a record increase in the past year as more people are making the decision to move out of Brooklyn and Manhattan.
“Many people are being priced out of Brooklyn,” said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers & Consultants. “One of the byproducts is the shifting demand to the other boroughs – with Queens being a key beneficiary.”
According to Zillow, a home and real estate online marketplace, the median rental price in Manhattan is $2,800 and Brooklyn in $2,150, while in Queens it is $1,700.
Miller said the push to the outer boroughs comes from three key drivers. For one, it has become harder to qualify for the type of credit for taking out a mortgage. Further, rising employment in the city has seen almost immediate responses from the rental market. Lastly, there is the never-ending search for affordability.
With new apartment buildings going up on the waterfront, Astoria and Long Island City have become the most expensive areas in the borough. According to Zumper, an apartment rental online source, prices in those two areas range from $1,550 for a one-bedroom near the Grand Central Parkway to $4,295 for a two-bedroom by the waterfront.
According to Chris Georgakopoulos, a realtor for Beaudoin Realty Group, the high prices in Astoria and Long Island City have some renters traveling deeper into Queens.
“People are being priced out of Brooklyn and they try to come into Long Island City but the prices are high there and they sort of backtrack into the parts outside of Long Island City,” she said.
Georgakopoulos added there are high demands for larger units of two- to three-bedrooms, but there are not enough of them to feed demand. She still believes the area is relatively affordable, pointing out it is just a 20-minute train ride from Midtown to boot. According to Zumper, prices in Jackson Heights and Corona range from $1,200 to $1,495.
Other popular areas in the borough are Bayside and Flushing, where prices range from $1,300 for a studio to $2,150 for a two bedroom.
“If you compare the prices that you pay in Manhattan to what you pay in northeastern Queens, it is worth the travel. It’s an extra 10 minutes and you are saving 50 percent on your rent,” said Anthony Carollo, broker and owner of Carollo Real Estate. “You get the amenities of a suburb and the [same] travel capacity as living in the city.”
According to the realtors and brokers, the rental market trend does not look like it will be going down anytime soon, with prices in Queens staying elevated — and even with some room for growth.
“This general trend has been in the last two years, but has become more apparent in the last year,” said Miller. “It doesn’t appear that we are trending away from this.”
