BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Luxury living isn’t just for Manhattan anymore,
according to last year’s numbers.
New data from StreetEasy.com shows
that New York City’s luxury residential
market was booming in Queens’ Long Island City
as well as a handful of Brooklyn neighborhoods in
2019. Eight of the city’s top 10 buildings with the
most condo contracts signed in 2019 were located
in Long Island City or in Brooklyn.
Long Island City’s Skyline Tower, located at
3 Court Sq., had 210 condo contracts signed
throughout last year. Downtown Brooklyn’s 11
Hoyt St. was second in line with 125 condo units
in contract in 2019.
Another Long Island Island City building, located
at 22-18 Jackson Ave., claimed the third spot with 88
contracts signed. Two buildings, 264 Webster Ave.
in Prospect Park and 11-12 44th Dr. in Long Island
City, tied with 49 contracts sign apiece. Following
close behind is Williamsburg’s 184 Kent Ave. and
Dumbo’s 98 Front St., with 46 and 41 contracts
signed, respectively.
LIC Market
Set New Records,
Defied Headwinds in 2019
16 FEBRUARY 2020 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
At number 10 is Long Island City’s 21-30 44th
Dr. with 37 condo units in contract in 2019.
Real Estate
Luxury LIC
Robert Whalen
Executive Director of Sales
Halstead Real Estate
47-12 Vernon Blvd, LIC, NY
718. 878.1800
The Long Island City real estate market continues
to soar, reaching an all-time high in prices
last year, according to public data reviewed using
Halstead’s proprietary analytics tools. The review
shows LIC has largely defied the headwinds that
have affected many other quarters of the New York
City market.
The average price per square foot for all condo
sales increased over 20 percent from the start of
2015 through 2019, rising to $1,279 per square foot
from $1,064 per square foot. The increase is even
more dramatic when compared to 2010, when the
average price per square foot was just $669, according
to closed sales data.
There were 362 condo sales closed in Long Island
City/Hunters Point in 2019. New development sales
accounted for 247 units, or roughly 68 percent of
the total. Resale transactions on the other hand accounted
for 115 units, or roughly 32 percent of all
condo sales. There were also 33 sales at Citylights,
the neighborhood’s waterfront co-op building.
The most active new development building was
22-18 Jackson Avenue, The Galerie, where sale
prices ranged from $563,288 for a studio unit to
$2,500,000 for a 3-bedroom penthouse. These
two sales were also the lowest and highest prices,
respectively, in the overall new development market.
The average sale price for new development
condos was $1,277,775, with an average price per
square foot of $1,326. Such properties on average
were on the market for 97 days. The average
monthly real estate taxes and common charges
were $760 and $799, respectively.
In the resale market, sales prices ranged from
$550,000 for a studio at 10-63 Jackson Avenue
to $3,000,000 for a spectacular 2-bedroom at 46-
30 Center Blvd., appropriately named The View.
The average sale price on the resale market was
$1,204,399, with an average price per square foot
of $1,177. Resale properties took longer to sell,
generally, by averaging 145 days on the market in
2019. The average monthly real estate taxes and
common charges in this segment of the LIC market
were $249 and $739, respectively. The lower
real estate tax figures are due to the presence of
tax abatements from some of the older buildings.
Many of the new development buildings do not offer
the tax abatement savings.
Meanwhile, at Citylights – the co-op organized as
a condop in 1997 on the waterfront – sale prices
ranged from $399,999 for a 1-bedroom apartment
to $1,280,000 for a roughly 1,500 square foot
3-bedroom home with a generous private terrace.
The average sale price at the building in 2019 was
$602,167 with an approximate price per square
foot of $714. The average monthly maintenance,
which covers operating expenses, debt service,
and real estate taxes, was $2,029. Apartments
that closed in this building last year were on the
market for an average of 190 days.
The Long Island City/Hunters Point market also
saw the greatest number of sales over the past
decade, exceeding the second most active year
during that span, 2018, when 316 sales closed.
Only 2009 and 2007 saw a greater number of
sales, hitting 419 and 367, respectively. So far, 36
sales have closed this year. With interest rates remaining
at historic lows and an abundance of new
condos being built, Long Island City is likely to see
another busy year for buyers and sellers in 2020.
As always, I hope you find this report
interesting and I look forward to hearing your
thoughts. You can connect with Robert Whalen at
Robert@Halstead.com
/StreetEasy.com
link
/www.qns.com
/www.qns.com
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