Real Estate BY ANGELA MATUA
www.qns.com i LIC COURIER i FEBRuary 2017 17
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
Market Update
Rents stabilizing in LIC and Astoria, but could soon spike
elsewhere in Queens: report
A report released by Modern
Spaces found that the average
condo price in Long Island City
has seen a large increase in the
past year, but that the rental market
will continue to stabilize as more
units are introduced in the market.
The Orange Report examines
the real estate market primarily in
Long Island City and Astoria and
the changes in prices in the condo
and rental markets. The average
condo price in Long Island City has
increased 25 percent from 2015
to 2016, according to the report.
The average price for a onebedroom
condo during the fourth
quarter of 2016 was $881,608
while the price during the same
time in 2015 was $782,976.
The average price per square
foot in the condo market has also
continuously increased since 2013.
Currently, the average price per
square foot for a condo in the neighborhood
is $1,122.
Long Island City’s rental mar
ket has seen a decrease in average
price per square foot. Arlinda
Dine, executive director of
marketing at Modern Spaces,
told QNS in October that rental
prices in the neighborhood would
stabilize soon as about 20,000
rentals come to the market in the
near future.
She also predicted that Astoria’s
condo market would continue to
grow and since last quarter the
average price per square foot in
Astoria has risen 11 percent, though
that number is mostly attributed to
The Marx Condominium.
Rental rates in Astoria have not
seen a huge shift. According to the
report’s Astoria Rental Snapshot,
the average rental price rose from
$2,446 last quarter to $2,565 in the
fourth quarter of 2016. During the
fourth quarter of 2015, the average
rental price was $3,131.
Modern Spaces predicts that
prices in “emerging markets” such
as Flushing, Jackson Heights, Woodside,
Sunnyside and Rego Park will
continue to rise as people are priced
out of other neighborhoods.
In a chart comparing the average
price for a studio in some of these
neighborhoods, Long Island City
and Astoria were unsurprisingly
the most expensive. The average
price for a studio in Sunnyside is
$1,644 and in Rego Park that price
is $1, 572. In Long Island City, the
average rental price for a studio is
almost double at $2,407.
“We predict that prices in these
areas will continually increase as
developments rise and the market
strengthens,” said Eric Benaim, president
and founder of Modern Spaces.