REAL ESTATE
Rents rise fastest in family-driven neighborhoods, study shows
BY RYAN KELLEY
rkelley@qns.com
Twitter @R_Kelley6
It’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 fi ndings
Sales in Queens HOMES COOPS CONDOS Listings and photos courtesy MLSLI
NORTHEAST NORTHWEST SOUTHEAST SOUTHWEST
COLLEGE POINT ASTORIA ST. ALBANS WOODHAVEN
Under $500,000
144-07 Sanford Ave., Flushing
$378,000
Co-op
2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Boya Du
Chase Global Realty Corp.
$500,000-900,000
47-11 217th St., Bayside
$898,000
1-family Colonial
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Chung Chia
East Coast Realtors
Over $900,000
620 College Pl., College Point
$1,350,000
2-family Colonial
6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
Fiona Chen
E Realty International Corp.
Under $500,000
94-11 34th Rd., Jackson Heights
$329,000
Co-op
2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Martin Dabao
Realty Executives Today
$500,000-900,000
25-40 38th St., Astoria
$739,000
Condo
1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
Lisa Grassia
Exit Kingdom Realty
Over $900,000
64-11 Woodside Ave., Woodside
$1,500,000
2-family home
6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
Moinul Islam
Mega Homes Realty
Under $500,000
183-18 Arcade Ave., St. Albans
$499,000
1-family Cape
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Qasir Ahmad
Century 21 American Homes
$500,000-900,000
82-45 165th St., Hillcrest
$749,998
1-family Colonial
4 bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms
Chao Ling Yeh
A & A Associates
Over $900,000
80-45 214th St., Hollis Hills
$999,000
1-family Colonial
3 bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms
Charles Chul Chang
Exit Realty Team
Under $500,000
118-82 Metropolitan Ave., Kew Gardens
$498,888
Condo
2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Michael Miguel
EXP Realty LLC
$500,000-900,000
87-34 94th St., Woodhaven
$739,000
1-family Colonial
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Fang Xiao
Do Right Realty
Over $900,000
94 Groton St., Forest Hills Gardens
$3,495,000
1-family mansion
5 bedrooms, 4 ½ bathrooms
Alla Yakubov
NY Empire Real Estate
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
renters in Astoria are families, and the
rent has increased there by 25 percent.
According to StreetEasy 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. “Th ese
are oft en residents who have little fi nancial
fl exibility to begin with. As a greater
share of their incomes goes towards rent,
it’s increasingly diffi cult 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
neighborhoods 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.
Other Queens neighborhoods aff ected
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. Th is 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.
Photos via Flickr/Garrett Ziegler
Garden apartments in Jackson Heights, Queens.
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