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Apt. sales across Queens are dipping
Drop in ‘World’s Borough’ deals refl ects citywide slump, according to comptroller report
BY MAX PARROTT
Despite the flurry of real
estate activity in Long Island
City amid the fallout from
the Amazon HQ2 debacle, a
new city comptroller’s report
shows that the northwest
region did not make up for the
borough as a whole. Queens
apartment sales overall are in
a slump.
Apartment sales in the
“World’s Borough” fell 11.7
percent from 3,421 to 3,022 in
the second quarter of 2019.
Real estate company Douglas
Elliman also reported that
the number of one- to threefamily
homes sold in Queens
fell by 9.4 percent in 2019, on a
year-over-year basis.
While the volume of real
estate sales in Manhattan rose
12.5 percent over the past year,
Robert Glessman, Douglas
Elliman’s executive manager
of sales for Queens, argued
that the drop is indicative of
a much larger trend across
the city. He pointed out that
Brooklyn’s apartment sales
also dipped by 4.5 percent
over the past year.
“As a whole, things are
down, yes, and that’s because
there’s no sense of urgency.
Everyone is waiting for a
better deal,” said Glessman,
explaining the trend as a
result of low interest rates.
“People buy by emotion
and urgency.”
Glessman said that the
other problem facing real
estate in Queens is that the
regions that tend to offer
the biggest deals tend to
have lower-density housing.
The southeastern region in
neighborhoods like Jamaica
and St. Albans tends to have
lower prices, but it offers
houses instead of condos, so
it doesn’t make a big dent in
the data.
Despite the drop, Andrew
Barrocas of MNS Realty, said
that he wasn’t concerned over
the health of new apartment
buildings in the borough.
He said he was confident
that the amount of new
construction would change
the trend.
“It’s a number that’s
difficult. That number is
heavily it could shift depending
on when closing happen,”
said Barrocas.
As a result of the drop, the
listing inventory rose 23.4
percent to 6,004 in the second
quarter of 2019 compared with
the same period last year,
according to the report.
“So we have more inventory
on the market and sales are
down. That tells me that
more people are coming on
the market,” said Glessman.
“They’re looking to play who’s
looking to come down. And
when numbers come down,
sales will come up.”
Reach reporter Max
Parrott by email at mparrott@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260-2507.
SWEET SUMMER ROAST IN JAMAICA
Jamaica was ‘all ears’ for the annual Corn Roast hosted by the Greater Jamaica Development
Corporation at the Jamaica Market on Aug. 10. Photo by Walter Karling
Vol. 7 No. 33 48 total pages
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