FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 17, 2018 • LIVING IN HOWARD BEACH • THE QUEENS COURIER 31
living in howard beach
After tough decade, Howard Beach market rebounds
BY RYAN KELLEY
rkelley@ridgewoodtimes.com
Twitter @R_Kelley6
Aft er a decade of uncertainty in the real
estate market in Howard Beach, mounting
evidence points to a bright future for
prospective homeowners in the area.
A pair of recent studies have shown
that housing values are not only increasing
across Queens as a whole, but Howard
Beach remains one of the more aff ordable
neighborhoods in the borough.
Local broker Jerry Fink, owner of Jerry
Fink Real Estate, Inc., said that recent
sales numbers are as high as he’s ever
seen them.
“People love the neighborhood because
it’s a very quiet neighborhood,” Fink said.
“You get off the Belt Parkway and it’s like
you’re living somewhere on Long Island,
and it’s a good feeling. I think that’s the
appeal, and it’s very close to the water,
of course.”
But that proximity to the Jamaica Bay
brought the market to a halt in 2012,
when Superstorm Sandy made its way up
the east coast and devastated many homes
in Howard Beach. Th e entire neighborhood
was fl ooded, with storm surges
reaching at least a foot deep in some
areas, the power was wiped out and sewers
were backed up for days.
In total, the storm caused an estimated
$19 billion in damage to New York City.
Before that, the global economic recession
in 2008 led to a collapse in the housing
market and forced the federal government
to bail out several investment banks.
According to Fink, however, those who
decided to stay in Howard Beach are glad
they did, and the real estate market was
back on its feet four months aft er the storm.
“It’s come back to where it is because
people understand that Sandy is a oncein
100-year thing,” Fink said. “It will
probably never happen again in most
people’s lifetime.”
Th e demographic of the neighborhood
plays an important factor in its current
position in the market as well. According
to an American Community Survey from
2012 to 2016, 94 percent of homes in
Howard Beach are one-unit detached
structures, and nearly 90 percent of all
homes are owner occupied.
Th at survey also lists the median value
of owner-occupied homes in the neighborhood
at $667,800.
According to a study by Property Shark,
that number is on par with the citywide
median as of 2017. Th e same study, however,
only took into account the prices of
condos and co-ops that were purchased
in 2008 and sold in 2017, and it showed
that all 11 such units in Howard Beach
decreased in value during that period.
As a whole, the Property Shark study
showed that Queens saw an overall
increase of 32 percent in prices.
Another recent study by StreetEasy said
that Howard Beach is the sixth most
aff ordable neighborhood out of the 53
in the borough. Th at study only factored
in deals made in 2017, and showed that
the median price in Howard Beach was
$314,950 for those sales, 37 percent lower
than the borough median.
Still, the diff ering sample sizes in each
study may account for the slightly confl
icting numbers, but Fink maintains that
Howard Beach real estate will soon reach
its maximum limit.
“Th ere’s not a lot of homes, but when
they do go on the market they sell quickly
if priced right,” Fink said. “I see it trending
upward, but I don’t think it’s going to
go much higher.”
File photo
Detached homes in Howard Beach
link
