The Gantries in Long Island City (Unsplash)
Jan. 22, 2021 By Allie Griffin
The rental market in Queens has taken a hit over the past year — and western Queens saw a heavy decline.
The average rent paid in December to nab a Queens apartment was down 6.23 percent, from December 2019, according to a recent report released by the real estate firm M.N.S.
The prices plummeted most in Long Island City and Astoria, the report revealed.
The average rent paid in December to snag a Long Island City apartment was down 14.42 percent compared to December 2019. In Astoria, that figure was down 12.36 percent compared to December 2019.
Other neighborhoods in the borough saw rental price declines but they were less severe.
In Long Island City apartments of all sizes were down — with the larger units hit hardest.
The average rent for a two bedroom apartment in Long Island City in December was $3,660. This figure was down 16.7 percent — from $4,397 — one year prior.
One-bedroom apartments in the neighborhood saw a 14 percent decline — with the December average being $2,882, down from $3,294 in December 2019.
LIC studios fell 11 percent to $2,364 compared to a year ago. A studio on average went for $2,646 in December 2019.
Yet even with the steep declines, Long Island City remained on average the most costly neighborhood in the borough in December, according to the report.
Long Island City rental price trends (MNS)
Astoria’s rental market experienced a decline much like Long Island City’s.
The average price to nab a two-bedroom apartment in Astoria in December was $2,314, down 12 percent from December 2019. One-bedrooms rented for $1,980, down 13 percent from $2,248 a year earlier. Meanwhile studios went for $1,691, down 13 percent from the December 2019 figure of $1,944.
Astoria rental price trends (MNS)
The decline in rents were felt borough wide — no matter the size of the unit.
The rent for studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms all fell by about 6 percent over the past 12 months.
Queens average rent price changes (MNS)
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16 Comments
Hi, Looking for a 2 bedroom apartment, section 8. Have job. Want the Woodside with cats.
Jimmy van Bramer’s legacy: crashing rents, unsafe streets, economic ruin. And he plans to run for Queens BP on this record of achievement!
JaimeB-Crashing rents, unsafe streets and economic ruin are all National, affecting the entire nation and world.
The lockdowns caused economic ruin not the virus. The lockdowns have destroyed the economy without saving a single life. Mask up and open up. If you have a pre-existing condition stay home and hide.
I’m not sure he is responsible, it did happen to most if the world.
Trump crashed the national economy. How is that the fault of one person in western Queens? lol
If you are looking for an apartment you can negotiate a cheaper price. So many are vacant and landlords are desperate.
Not all landlords are desperate. I won’t take any new tenants until the eviction moratorium is ended. I’m not looking to adopt dead beats that can avoid paying rent with no consequences.
Can someone elaborate if these statistics are about new leases closed at the time, or the average rent actually paid? Nobody cares about the latter. It’s about what you can get now. And those numbers are far lower than those single digit decreases, from what I observe.
Landlords get what people are willing to pay.
They raise the rent based on the raises that the market is dictating.
If you can’t afford to live in that area, you make more mo eh or you move.
BUY AN APT! You will not regret it!
And you will forever be free from landlords.
I’m a Woodsider all my life. Selling my house in March. I need a 1 bedroom pet friendly apartment possibly with a balcony and parking. Can u help?
Make sure you are talking about ALREADY overpriced rentals. A lot of rentals in sunnyside are still reasonably priced, I pay $2k for 2 bedroom, my friends have been paying $1600 for 1 bedroom for years and years, I am just sad I missed that place with parking and laundry and 2 bath for $2500 few months ago, but it was on building and I was kinda on the fence about moving into a building with all the random people moving in and out of these buildings.
The main rent problem is LIC/Astoria areas, and especially LIC people though “LUXURY, YEAH!” and moved into $4k 1 bedrooms in a building with 500 other people, and now they can’t wait to get out. Being by waterfront doesn’t help in covid when you have to take elevator with 10 others, or wait for elevator to take 20 turns before getting on it…
The rent is still too damn high
For people who own their apartments, don’t expect your maintenance bill to go down.
House owners, don’t expect your property taxes to ease up either.
my maintenance has only gone up 1% in 5 years, so a $10 monthly increase doesnt mean anything to me. sucks to be those people who never bothered to look at the building’s financials when buying an apartment. and when does anything go down in price? never.
Surreal – And why should we expect our property taxes or maintenance to go down? The costs of most things is static and is what it is.