REAL ESTATE
Queens areas make list of hardest places to build housing
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @AngelaMatua
A Wall Street Journal report analyzing
Sales in Queens HOMES COOPS CONDOS Listings and photos courtesy MLSLI
NORTHEAST NORTHWEST SOUTHEAST SOUTHWEST
BAYSIDE WOODSIDE QUEENS VILLAGE WOODHAVEN
Under $500,000
249-01 61 Ave., Little Neck, NY 11362
$174,990
Co-Op
1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
Leonard Simonetti
Exit Realty All Pro
$500,000 - $900,000
945 120 St., College Point, NY 11356
$828,000
2-family
6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Xiao Feng Shi
E Realty International Corp
Over $900,000
200-32 45 Ave., Bayside, NY 11361
$925,000
1-family Colonial
3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Anita Aragona
East Coast Realtors Inc
Under $500,000
51-34 30 Ave., Woodside, NY 11377
$315,000
Co-Op
1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
Brendan Heavin
RE/MAX Legacy
$500,000 - $900,000
37-59 61 St., Woodside, NY 11377
$768,000
Condo
2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Tsering Lhundup
Winzone Realty Inc
Over $900,000
50-34 64th St., Woodside, NY 11377
$950,000
1-family Colonial
3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
Rajinder Khanna
Laff ey Real Estate
Under $500,000
89-15 Parsons Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11432
$149,999
Condo
2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Olawale Omotosho
Skylight Real Estate Consultan
$500,000 - $900,000
85-62 148 St., Briarwood, NY 11432
$898,000
1-family Colonial
5 bedrooms, 1bathrooms
Huang Kuo
RE/MAX Team
Over $900,000
211-11 86 Ave., Hollis Hills, NY 11427
$1,549,000
1-family Colonial
5 bedrooms, 3 full-baths, 2 half-baths
David Panah
Empire Home Sales Inc
Under $500,000
102-30 66th Rd., Forest Hills, NY 11375
$399,000
Co-Op
1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
George Herrera
Keller Williams Landmark II
$500,000 - $900,000
110-11 Queens Blvd., Forest Hills, NY 11375
$569,000
Co-Op
1 bedroom, 1bathrooms
Lorraine Rothberg
Exit Realty First Choice
Over $900,000
160-39 81st St., Howard Beach, NY 11414
$929,000
1-family Hi Ranch
4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
Pasquale Fecentese
Exit Realty Central
housing data around the country
found that while development in big cities
has ramped up, residents in surrounding
low-density neighborhoods have been
resisting new construction.
BuildZoom, an online marketplace for
contractors, culled data from the 50 largest
metro areas and housing stock from
2000 through 2015 to determine the areas
that were toughest to build in.
Cities like Austin, Denver and Pheonix
were easier to build in than Los Angeles,
Honolulu and New York. Th e toughest
neighborhood to build in is Venice
Beach, Calif. followed by Prospect Leff erts
Gardens in Brooklyn.
According to Issi Romem, chief economist
for BuildZoom, certain areas are
tough to build in for several reasons. Data
shows that the areas where it is toughest
for developers to build are usually
inner suburbs. Local land use rules make
it harder to construct housing outside of
dense downtowns and in areas identifi ed
as transit hubs.
Since inner suburbs
have usually
been around longer
than distant suburbs,
the number of available
lots to build on
is usually scarce and
can receive pushback
from longtime residents.
Romem mapped
out the 10 neighborhoods
in New York
City deemed toughest
to-build and
found that Sunnyside
and Astoria were
third and fi ft h on the
list, respectively.
Sunnyside actually lost 473 units
between 2000 and 2015. A portion of
the neighborhood was rezoned in 2011
“to protect the lower-density character”
and in 2016, a developer looking to build
a 200-unit aff ordable housing project
backed out aft er fi erce opposition from
residents.
Surprisingly, Romem found that gentrifying
neighborhoods and low-rise,
wealthy enclaves are usually toughest to
build in. Th ough housing appreciation
rises in gentrifying neighborhoods and
people are willing to spend more money
to move to these places, the interest stems
from the areas physical charm.
Newer buildings oft en do not refl ect
the neighborhoods’ character, which elicits
the kind of local opposition seen in
Sunnyside and other city neighborhoods.
Astoria, which was named one of the
most gentrifying neighborhoods by the
NYU Furman Center last year, lost 731
units between 2000 through 2015. It’s a
neighborhood made up of mostly lowrise
homes but has seen more development
in the last few years, although nothing
compared to its neighbor Long Island
City.
Photo via Shutterstock
A report found that Sunnyside and Astoria are some of the most diffi cult
neighborhoods to build housing in.