Home prices slipped across Manhattan and Brooklyn last quarter, but rose in Queens, according to a new report.
As owners put a slew of homes on the market, the bevy of choices dragged Manhattan home prices down 1.1 percent — the largest annual decline since the financial crisis, according to StreetEasy, a listings company that compiles price indexes for each borough by looking at the resales of co-ops, condos and town houses. That brought the Manhattan price index down to $1.16 million. The Brooklyn index fell 0.5 percent over the past year to $724,733.
Although the number of homes on the market also grew in Queens, the borough’s price index increased 7.3 percent to $530,556, according to a StreetEasy report slated to be released Wednesday.
Despite this momentum, price cuts were common in Queens, as they have been in other boroughs. In northwest Queens, where prices rose 5.1 percent over the past year to $775,122, more than one in four listings lowered their prices, according to StreetEasy.
Rental rates in Long Island City, Astoria and Sunnyside stagnated, and about 25 percent of units were leased at discounted rates, according to StreetEasy.
Grant Long, StreetEasy’s senior economist, wrote in an email that condos in that corner of the borough are often purchased as an investment that can be rented out. Monthly rates in these units tend to be significantly higher than in the surrounding area because they come with high-end amenities, Long said.
“Rents in Northwest Queens have been declining over the past year, driven in large part by the new construction in Long Island City,” Long wrote in an email. “But with increased competition on the market, they [investors] should be ready for renters to negotiate and be willing to offer concessions in order to stand apart from the pack.”
Deals were reached relatively quickly in southern Queens, where homes came off the market within a median of 50 days — or nearly two weeks quicker than during the second quarter of 2017, StreetEasy said.
Long said demand was surging because of the relatively affordable prices in the submarket, which StreetEasy says extends from Woodhaven to Queens Village and down through Howard Beach and Brookville. Prices in that area grew 3.9 percent from last year to $482,242, according to StreetEasy.
“But as more inventory comes onto the market — and thus, more competition for sellers — we may see homes in South Queens linger on the market for longer than they normally would,” Long wrote in an email. “With sky-high inventory numbers and more homes to choose from than in the past seven years, buyers can afford to be picky and patient, and negotiate before putting in an offer.”
