Real Estate
QUEENS RENTS RISE FASTEST
IN AREAS WITH MORE FAMILIES
IBY RYAN KELLEY t’s no secret that New York City rents are
consistently rising, but the highest increases
are occurring in family-centric neighborhoods
in Queens and elsewhere, according to a new
study by StreetEasy.
Based on an analysis of rental listings on StreetEasy
over the past decade, the findings released on Aug.
24 show that rents in neighborhoods where at least
25 percent of residents were families with children
rose 5 percent faster than those in which less than
25 percent of residents were families.
In Elmhurst, for example, where 39 percent of the
population is families with children, the rent has grown
by 36 percent. On the other hand, 20 percent of rent-ers
in Astoria are families, and the rent has increased
there by 25 percent.
According to StreetEast Senior Economist Grant
Long, this means that low-income households
have been hit especially hard by the rising cost
in housing.
“Residents who already struggle to make ends
meet and renters dealing with the high costs of
childcare are predominantly living in areas that
see the most dramatic rent growth,” Long said.
“These are often residents who have little finan-cial
flexibility to begin with. As a greater share of
their incomes goes towards rent, it’s increasingly
difficult for families to save for a down payment
on a home, their children’s college education, or
emergencies.”
To that point, the study indicates that in neigh-borhoods
16 SEPTEMBER 2018 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
with household incomes below the city’s
2010 median of $50,285, rents grew by 33 percent.
Over the same 10-year period, rents grew by 27
percent in neighborhoods with an above-median
income.
Photo via Flickr/Garrett Ziegler
Other Queens neighborhoods affected by this
trend include Jackson Heights, Flushing, Sunnyside
and Corona, according to the report.
One possible explanation could be the explosion of
development in some areas of the city. In Long Island City,
where upzoning has allowed for more dense residential
development, there has been an 18 percent growth rate in
rent prices while the neighborhood has a 30 percent family
population. This supports the theory that a higher supply of
housing units actually limits rent growth, the study notes.
In areas that have been downzoned to preserve
the character of the neighborhood, a limited supply
of housing with an ever increasing demand has driven
the rents higher, according to the report.
But in Ridgewood, where there are many historic
districts to preserve character, the rent has grown by
just 15 percent despite 40 percent of the population
having families. It is the biggest outlier in the study.
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