Jan. 18, 2017 By Christian Murray
Whether it be a studio apartment or a 2 bedroom, condo prices in Long Island City continue to soar to new heights.
The average sales price for a Long Island City condo jumped 25 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to the same period in 2015, according to the latest market report released by Modern Spaces today.
The average price paid for a studio in the fourth quarter was $745,000, up from $545,000 for the fourth quarter in 2015. The average paid for a 1 brm was $882,000, up from $783,000 for the same period in 2015.
Meanwhile, the average paid for a 2 brm in the fourth quarter was $1,210,000, up from $1,170,000 a year prior.
Eric Benaim, the chief executive of Modern Spaces, attributed the big increases to a plethora of factors.
He said that condo prices in Manhattan and Brooklyn are extremely high, which has made Long Island City an attractive alternative. He said that most of the units in Long Island City are priced between $700,000 and $2,000,000, a reasonable price for many first and second time home buyers seeking new construction.
Furthermore, Benaim said that the influx of new residents into the area–most of whom are renters– has boosted the number of interested buyers.
“Many people rent for a year or two and then become attached to the neighborhood and want to buy,” Benaim said.
In contrast to the condo market, the Long Island City rental market remains flat.
The cost to rent a luxury Long Island City apartment in the fourth quarter of 2016 was little changed from that of 2015.
A luxury studio went for $2,410 in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to $2,430 for the same period in 2015, according to the report. For a one bedroom the 4Q figure was $3,010, compared to $3,030.
There was an increase in the rent for 2 bedrooms, with the 4Q16 figure coming in at $4,530, compared to $4,290.
Benaim anticipates that the Long Island City rental market will soften. “In general we see the rental market continue to plateau due to the newest influx of rentals.”
For the full report, please click here.
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34 Comments
Somethings are worth the money, most our not. Many people Keep paying through the nose for things that are “NAME BRANDS” and are made just like a cheaper brand anyway. They don’t last. Why $5 Latte’s . Those $5 Latte’s and cable TV were the first things people shed when the downturn occurred. People are buying bigger gas guzzling cars forgetting what happened in he past gas shortages and price increases near% a gallon. All bought smaller more efficient cars. People have short attention spans. The rich just don’t care.
Brooklynmc , down to earth people are not superficial and vain. Most of the people I see are selfless mindless zombies yuppies, millennials and hipsters that pay through the nose for designer brands, overpay for heir condos and rentals and ruin it for everyone else. Brand names are better because they cost more thinking., always on their phones and rude when they are not.Maybe his will hep you see what I see as not down to earth people. Sensible people who care about their neighbors and aren’t so selfish are down to earth to me.
Brand name jeans do feel better.. the denim material is stretchy/comfy and make your @ss look better. Worth every penny when you own a pair that lasts for years thru many washings. Perhaps you should try on a pair instead of being so judgy. (disclaimer: I don’t own a pair of high end jeans). I have no issues with those that pay for quality jeans or condos.
Agree with brooklynmc’s assessment of you. Why so angry and bitter?
Continued…also Frank the more so called 6 figure middle class move here the more crime will have a chance to flourish. You really believe the crooked DumBlasio and his cronies that “CRIME IS DOWN” I have some swampland in FLA. for you if you do. Remember Compstat.
It is amazing the temper tantrums you throw while lumping tens of thousands of people under this weird mindless, elitist, selfless umbrella of pampered people with nannies and dog walkers who spoil their children. Your idea of a down to earth person might be different than mine cause I like down to earth people too. You come off as far from down to earth and quite angry, judgemental and bitter.
Frank, at least we agree on sweatshop labor. You may think this is a neighborhood/community worth living in but obviously I don’t see this or any other gentrified/elitist/ 6 figure so called middle class neighborhood/community as worth living in. Give me real down to earth people with real middle class values, not he mindless/selfless people I see around LIC. Instead of helping someone in trouble, these people take pictures of the incident on their cell phones or refuse to get involved.
Continued… Manhattan prices are not that much different and the space between it and LIC is shrinking fast as are Brooklyn prices. I guess Brooklyn is also an arm of Manhattan. Why not just make Manhattan the entire 5 boroughs is your thinking. Don’t worry Frank, hopefully sometime soon I will be leaving your Elitist UTOPIA.
Continued…Mexican car workers make $3 an hour. Beside the point is community is not always GLOBAL as neighborhoods are not either, they are local. This antiseptic play date stay in the house Elitist area with Nannies and Dog Walkers is a UTTER JOKE. Elitism at its best. This what you are defending.
MRLIC, I am not arguing that globalization has forced American workers to compete with sweatshop labor – that is plainly true. It is not relevant to my point, namely that my personal “community” is made up of people I have met around the world and am friends with. My “neighborhood” is characterized by the functional benefits and limitations of a locale that factor into my decision to live there. I think you conflate the two and are taking a very narrow perspective.
FRANK, You could not be any more off base with your ELITIST thinking. You have no sense of what a neighborhood is or should be, Globalization and trade with Oppressive Communist nations and cheap labor in Mexico and other countries does not work,
To all of you who think the current LIC is so great. It is antiseptic and nothing that I would call a community or neighborhood. Most new small businesses close after a short time and rents have a lot to do with that. Just because you want to pay $2,000 + for a studio doesn’t make you special. To me it makes you DUMB. If no one paid these prices they would have to lower it.
Correct you are – if no one paid these prices, they would decrease. Except there are lots of people who want to (a) be close to Manhattan, (b) don’t want to pay Manhattan rent, and (c) want more space than Mahattan. And they have the money to pay for it. Small businesses are a secondary part of the decision making process, and many here have been very successful.
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Regarding neighborhood, sorry, but the dictionary would agree that this is a “neighborhood”. In terms of community, my community of friends is not geographically bound and is spread across the City and the globe. Sorry if you need such proximity to feel like you have a community around you.
They’re paying the premium for living 1 subway stop from Manhattan in a full service building, with a very nice waterfront park nearby. I agree that it is expensive, but you get what you pay for. I doubt anyone wants to pay that much but they choose to because they can make the numbers work or they find some balance of pros/cons vs another location.
Ours is pretty much all owner occupied with a bare handful of rentals.
We used to live at The Vista on Purves and that seemed like a higher rental mix.
I think there is a lot more potential for overseas investment in the initial development, rather than the subsequent ownership post-construction.
What will tell us a lot about whether this trend is real or not is to know what % of the sales were to investors vs. owner occupants. My understanding is that the LIC condo market is currently being driven by investors (many from foreign countries) which makes sense. A 25% increase in prices year-over-year is pretty crazy especially when comparable neighborhoods in NYC is not growing at this pace.
I think the steep curve we have seen in the past 5-10 years here is reflective of LIC moving from the dynamics of Queens real estate to those of Manhattan real estate. LIC is closer to Manhattan that some parts of Manhattan. Sorry to those who want the old Hunterspoint, but, functionally, LIC is now part of greater Manhattan like DUMBO and proximal parts of Brooklyn.
There are many that invested early and have benefitted greatly from taking the risk when the masses did not believe in LIC’s potential. There was a time not too long ago with no food cellar, gantry park, duane reade. There were two terrible pizza shops, both gone now thankfully. This is great news for many and they deserve it. Real estate appreciation is no basis for complaints about affordability. Neighborhoods evolve.. when it no longer becomes affordable to me, I have no issues moving out. If the local schools start to suck, I will move out. If crime hits too close to home, I will move out. If neighbors start to suck, I will move out.
Bottom line, when things suck for me, I will move out but I won’t complain because it got too expensive for me. I don’t complain about Ferraris and Porsches being too pricey.. I know I can’t afford one. Indeed it makes me sad and I cry a little every night but I don’t complain about it.
what two pizza places? And what replaced them?
San Remo sitting empty still (next to the vet). Papo’s Fried Chicken & Pizza place replaced by sLICe.
Pricing has become out of control in LIC.
I own a 4 family building in LIC.
Granted it’s an older property,
My top rental from a 2 bedroom $2850.00 that includes washer dryer and parking.
I’m satisfied with that.
You have to be rich to afford these prices. LIC is now an arm of Manhattan. What a shame the real middle class have been forced out.
The shame is being out of touch with the reality of NYC. It is unrealistic to think that living across the river from one of the most expensive cities in the world would remain affordable for everyone. If you want to live somewhere where real estate is not in demand and economic growth is stagnant, move to Ohio or Kansas. Better yet, the “real middle class” can “force” their way into to Astoria, Jackson Heights, or a more affordable area of Queens.
“Middle class” is a relative term — the income level of “middle class” outside of the tri-state area is drastically different from here. I’d argue that most of the “yuppie” LIC residents are “middle class” when compared to Manhattanites.
It truly is amazing that someone can have a low 6 figure income and be “middle class”, yet still feel poor in this city. It’s also just as amazing how many rich people live in this city.
It is amazing that anyone can think they are poor when you have a roof over your head and be able to eat. It is important we all have gratitude in this country given that the majority of us have basic necessities met. That already makes us rich in comparison with the rest of the world.
As I have said before, you have to be rich to live in LIC. It is just now an arm of Manhattan. What a shame the real middle class have been forced out.
“Rich” is a relative term. To live ANYWHERE within a 15-30-mile radius of Manhattan requires a higher level of income than 99% of other areas in the USA. Sure, people in LIC are “rich” to those living in Lincoln, Nebraska or Cincinnati, Ohio. But I would argue that most of the newer residents of LIC are “middle class” when compared to those who can afford to live across the East River.
We live a 5-minute subway ride from one of the most expensive cities in the entire world, and you expect our neighborhood to remain stagnant? To somehow believe LIC can remain insulated from what’s happening on the other side of the river? Not realistic. If you can’t afford to live here and want your environment to never change, best to start looking somewhere at least 100 miles away from Manhattan.
I agree that rich is a relative term. Please remember in America, over 90 percent are rich just based on the fact our necessities are met. Travel to other parts of the world and you will most likely have gratitude for what you have even if you think you are poor in America.
Too bad that most condo’s available in LIC have a hefty monthly maintenance fee attached to it… mismanagement at it’s finest.
As far as I am aware, most of the condos have maintenance fees in line with NYC standards and benefit from PILOT programs. The main exception is Citylights, but part of their maintenance is a building mortgage as they are more like a co-op. Maybe some of the very small buildings are different.
Im only paying early $300 per month for our condo fee’s. LIV @ Murray Park North – 1 BDR. That’s very reasonable. And our taxes are very reasonable as well even without tax abatement. I have seen several other places that are between $500 – $800 per month and I would never pay that much.
Come on, LIC condo/co-op maintenance fees are nowhere near the $2+ per square foot per month for established buildings in Manhattan. Right now the maintenance fees seem to be pretty much dirt cheap on average.
But don’t worry – when your tax abatements start to go away, your buildings need some major work, and the mayor needs more money to put the homeless into the Plaza and the Ritz-Carlton, I think the fees will start getting closer. Check back with me in about 10 years.
Not sure where you’re getting your facts and data points from on common charges. But that is pretty much inaccurate.
The maintenance fee is actually pretty good and fair given the cost of maintaining a building. Even lower priced co-ops in the boroughs have similar maintenance costs
My maintenance is $642.50 includes heat, hot water, gas and electric in Jackson Heights. My mortgage is $695.95 per month, for 720 sq feet with a terrace in a 1 bedroom. I’d rather not throw away thousands in renting in a luxe building. Buildings with doormen know EVERYTHING about you. We have no doormen here, and it’s really quiet.