Queens saw slight upward movement in average rental pricing since December, says a recent MNS report on the borough. According its January market report for Queens, MNS measured a 1.43 percent increase in average rent month-over-month. Prices stood at $2,094.34 at the end of 2015 and grew to $2,124.26 in January.
At the same time, inventory across Queens dropped 3.34 percent, from 1,256 units before the turn of the year to 1,214 units in January. A tighter market with fewer units for renters could have played a role in the marginal upturn in average price.
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Are studios the king of Queens?
Perhaps the greatest rental value increase within Queens neighborhoods on was in studio pricing. Jackson Heights studios increased 10 percent since December, climbing $142 to reach $1,558 per month on average. Jackson Heights only had three studios listed in the month of January.
Studios in Long Island City sat the longest on the market at 33 days, while Flushing studios were idle the least amount of time, at 19 days on the market. Also, Long Island City had the largest number of studio listings with 52 open units.
The average price for a studio in Queens in January was $1,747 per month. Studios increased the second most in price year-over-year — 2.23 percent — beating out two-bedrooms and coming in second to one-bedrooms in Queens.
In Ridgewood, Flushing and Rego Park, average rent prices for studios decreased, whereas average rent on two-bedrooms went up month-over-month. Between December and January, two-bedroom prices grew from 3.7 to 6.7 percent. These neighborhoods might be more popular for families or roommates and not single dwellers searching alone.
The favorite ‘hoods of early 2016
Both Long Island City and Astoria held the majority of Queens’ market share in January, contributing 71 percent of the units analyzed in the MNS report.
Long Island City featured a .68 percent price plunge in two-bedroom units, and a 5 percent increase in studios. One-bedroom apartments increased .1 percent between December and January in the neighborhood.
However, Long Island City had the largest price decrease year-over-year in January, with a 6.07 percent price drop across all unit sizes. For comparison, Ridgewood had the largest decline, with a 9.01 percent annual decrease.
Astoria’s two-bedroom rental prices dropped .49 percent month-over-month, but jumped .65 percent among studios and 2.6 percent for one-bedrooms. Astoria featured a price hike in January for yearly average rent, too, with a 3.72 percent increase across all unit sizes.
Priciest spots in Queens
While average rent in Queens doesn’t hit Manhattan levels — which decreased .96 percent in January to land at $3,873 — or even recent Brooklyn surges, popularity and price varies by neighborhood. After all, Queens is New York City, and an average rent of almost $2,215 is nothing to scoff at.
Long Island City was the most expensive neighborhood by far in Queens this past month. All unit sizes, including studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms, held the top spot for steepest rent in the borough.
Studios in Long Island City, priced at $2,418 per month, increased in price by 5 percent since the month prior, when rent was at an average $2,303. One-bedrooms increased by just $3 to reach $2,754 per month, while two-bedrooms dropped slightly to hit a $3,621 average.
