By Alex Robinson
The average price of homes in Queens has gone up in the third quarter of 2014, but sales have dropped since the same time last year, a new report by the Real Estate Board of New York said.
A one- to three-family home in the borough sold for $571,000 on average, an increase of 7 percent, but sales fell 15 percent to 2,045 deals during the third quarter.
“The rise in sales price and reduced amount of sales is the result that we are seeing all over the city in that the availability of properties is slimmer and the demand is higher,” Kenneth Zakin, a senior managing director at NGKF Capital Markets, said in an email. “Therefore, pricing continues to move up as investors and developers seek to take advantage of the market dynamic and demand for residential development in the boroughs.”
Flushing’s condo market slowed down as only 71 units were sold in the quarter, a 63 percent decrease from the same period in 2013.
The areas that have seen the most sales in the borough are Rego Park, Forest Hills and Kew Gardens, which had a combined 375 residential sales, and Flushing, which recorded 320.
Real estate brokers said the borough’s neighborhoods with denser housing, such as Flushing, Jackson Heights and Rego Park, have had higher numbers of sales compared to areas like Astoria, where there are more one- to three-family homes, which are typically too expensive for those looking to buy their first home.
“First-time home buyers. may be unable to come up with the big down payments and sometimes all cash required to make a deal in a market when demand is high,” said Peter Horowitz, a real estate broker, whose firm is based in Astoria.
The average sales price of co-ops in the borough increased 9 percent and the cost of condominiums went up 4 percent, according to the report.
Long Island City had the highest average home sales price of any neighborhood in Queens at $824,000.
Beechhurst and Whitestone saw the most dramatic increase in value from last year as the average price jumped 34 percent to $682,000.
“Sales activity has continued to be strong citywide as more transactions are completed at higher price levels across all property types,” said Steven Spinola, president of REBNY, which is a powerful real estate trade association. “This holds true particularly for Brooklyn and Queens where we are seeing many new projects come on line.”
The average sales price of homes citywide rose 13 percent to $910,000, buoyed by strong rises in Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Reach reporter Alex Robinson by e-mail at arobinson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
