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Year-to-Year Rental Prices Drop in Long Island City After ‘Deluge’ of Units Hit Market: Report

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Jan. 18, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez

Long Island City rental prices saw a near double-digit decline in 2017 as new units flooded the market, according to a report.

The report, released by Modern Spaces, revealed that the average rent paid across Long Island City fell 9 percent from 4Q2016 to 4Q2017.

Court Square was the sub market hit hardest, with the average down a whopping 23 percent from 4Q2016 to 4Q2017, while units in Hunters Point fell an average of about 8 percent over the same period.

The Queens Plaza area, however, saw a 5 percent uptick, according to Modern Spaces data.

The market’s softening was evident by the rental concessions now being offered. Some buildings are offering three months of free rent on 24-month leases, according to the Modern Spaces.

The report noted that a “deluge of rental units were brought to market” in 2017 and approximately 2,200 new units came online in the fourth quarter alone.

“With thousands of units remaining in the pipeline and set to come online in the near future, this trend appears to be just beginning,” reads the report.

The overall weakening of the rental market was anticipated. Eric Benaim, CEO of Modern Spaces, predicted it in 2016.

Q4-2017 versus Q4-2016 average prices in Long Island City (Modern Spaces)

In Court Square several large rental buildings came to market last year, such as the 974-unit Hayden, along with the Forge’s 272 luxury units.

Nearly half of the new leases signed last year (47 percent) were in buildings in the Court Square area, according to the report.

The rent paid for a one bedroom apartment in Court Square dropped nearly 3 percent, from $3,074 to $2,983, year-over-year. Two-bedroom units fell 5 percent over the same period, to $3,988.

The amount paid for a three bedroom saw the steepest decline among rentals in Court Square, down a whopping 26 percent year-over-year, to $5,632.

Average studio prices, however, increased by nearly 6 percent, to $2,408, year-over-year.

In Hunters Point, studios led the downward trend, down nearly 16 percent, from $2,651 in 4Q2016 to $2,234 in 4Q2017. Two-bedroom units trailed closely behind, with average prices dropping 14 percent to $3,956.

The Queens Plaza district–where several buildings, including Tower 28, Packard Square West, and 1 QPS came online in 2017–saw an uptick in average rental prices. The price paid for a one bedroom rose 5 percent, to $2,755 for Q42017, compared to the same quarter in 2016.

Click here for Modern Spaces reports.

Modern Spaces Q42017 report

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17 Comments

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rtfmidtown

yes lots people moving into LIC.. 7 train will get insaner and insaner..
queensboro plaza at rush hour is already lots of fun.. certain to get even
better.. do be careful you don’t fall onto the tracks.. thank you
mr. bloomberg for selling out the city to the real estate scum..

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Gilgo

In the midst of this development, the King and Big Bird have been called to task. Let us not forget JVB whose campaign coffers were lined with donations from these developers.

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MRLIC

Luxury Condon Developer-you are wasting your writing. No one likes Luxury Condos anymore or people like you who are greedy. You sound just like and probably are MRIRONY.

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Luxury Condo Developer

Another lie–if you didn’t like us you wouldn’t vote for one of us for president. Thanks again, with the huge tax breaks he gave super-rich people like us, we can build more, rents will go up, and you working class families won’t be able to afford a computer anymore we won’t have to see you whine on the internet.

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Ana

Really? A significant drop?
A few hundred $$$ below $3,000.00. Are you insane. Those rents were extremely high and unaffordable to begin with and continue to be. Eventually, those current renters retire and then what. I’ll tell you. They are pushed out of their homes to make room for the younger, affluent and employed renter with no roots in the community. We no loner know our neighbors. What a sad state of affairs.

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Young, affluent, and employed

I know my neighbors. We like to get together and talk about the old idiots whose apartments we stole.

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Rolando Correa

Ana,

I totally agree. Over the years I have seen the development of the LIC area and despite its beautiful structure and sites. It has become a place for the younger, affluent and employed renter with no roots in the community as you said. Sadly enough its all about the money in the end and the developers really can care less about the community.

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Anon

This should shock no one. There isn’t really much of a demand, it’s all speculation, yet here we are. Overcrowded and overburdened transportation system in LIC. Wait until that L shuts down. Fun times ahead.

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queens_mc

They have been building 40 story buildings in LIC for 15 years and they keep filling up. There is a demand. It may be slowing.

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Derrick Novzen

I find it uniquely funny that the son(Eric Benaim) of a landlord (Raphy Benaim) is speaking on behalf of LIC real estate. Halstead, Douglas Elliman, and SMS should also have been included in this article to allow for some potentially polarizing viewpoints. All it seems here is paid advertising with one set of facts by one smaller company. In addition “Predicting” is a strong word to describe common sense supply and demand economics. More people want houses in LIC, they make more houses than meet demand, prices go down. Giving credit to someone for something so remedial insults the average human’s intelligence.

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Gloria Glaser

I agree the city is becoming the playground for the rich driving out working families and now adding more insult to injury congestion pricing. Drivers who live in the boroughs already pay a premium to register a car and high tolls on bridges soon workers will not be able to afford to work in the city even with a $15. Minimum wage

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MRLIC

These inflated prices whether up or down are still out of most common working people’s range. A City for the rich has just about come true KING BLOOMBERG and Mayor DumBlasio.

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Luxury Condo Developer

MRLIC as a luxury condo developer I wanted to thank you for electing one of us as president. The huge tax break he gave us and other super-rich people made it much easier to build more luxury condos.

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JAMES EDSTROM

Hate to say it, most of us in NYC did not vote for Trump. Mr. Luxury Condo Developer, which I doubt you are, will see things change the next few years. The Housing market is ready to crash. Look around in Midtown. The greed the landlords have for more rent, by closing places that have been around for 50 years has left empty storefronts everywhere. People move to a neighborhood for services, the cleaner on the corner, the old fashioned barber shop,
supermarkets and many other services that we want right at our front door. They all are leaving and being replaced by ATM Centers. But right now, even banks are closing so many locations. Look around 57th street. People can only be pushed too much on rent and lack of services. They will wake up soon and say, by NYC. Living in New York my whole life, the crash is coming. Up and down. Thats the story of NYC.

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Rd. Ave. St. Dr.

God I would love to see a housing crash on the current president’s watch. I can’t think of better karmic entertainment.

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