Sunnyside Coop Building (Photo: Queens Post)
Aug, 12 2020 By Michael Dorgan
A new report has revealed that the number of residential real estate sales in Queens plunged during the second quarter although sales prices in the borough increased.
The report, conducted by real-estate data provider PropertyShark, analyzed all residential sales that closed in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx between April 1 and June 30. The three month period marked the height of the city’s coronavirus shutdown.
The study found that residential property sales in the World’s Borough declined by 42 percent compared to the same period last year. There were 1,365 sales in the period this year compared to 2,340 sales during the second quarter in 2019.
However, while the number of transactions fell, the median sales price of a dwelling in the borough increased by 12.3 percent. The median sales price in Queens for the second quarter was $520,000, according to the report.
In fact, there were eight Queens communities in the report’s top 50 most expensive neighborhoods among the four boroughs.
Fresh Meadows came in as the most expensive neighborhood in Queens with a median sales price of $930,000. The price tag was a 9 percent jump from the same period last year and made Fresh Meadows the 27th most expensive neighborhood on the Top 50 list.
Queensboro Hill, an area south of downtown Flushing, ranked as the second most expensive neighborhood in Queens with a median sale price of $893,000. Hunters Point, an area within Long Island City, was just behind in third with a median sale price of $890,000. (to learn more about the Hunters Point market, click here)
On the other end of the scale, Briarwood was found to be the least expensive neighborhood in Queens with a median sales price of $213,000–representing a 34 percent decline from a year ago.
Corona, a neighborhood hit hard by COVID-19, was the second most affordable neighborhood in the borough with a median sales price of $260,000. Lindenwood came in third with a median selling price of $270,000.
Queens condos outperformed every other residential type in terms of pricing. The median sales price for a condo in the second quarter was $644,000 — a 13 percent increase from the same period a year ago.
However, condos only made up a little more than 20 percent of the total sales. Single-family homes in Queens represented the largest share at 41 percent, with co-ops making up about 37 percent of sales.
Manhattan was the worst-performing of the four boroughs for the second quarter. Its sales activity was half that of a year ago and the median sales price dropped 22 percent, from $1.27 million to $990,000.
The report was conducted using only neighborhoods that recorded at least five closed sales in the second quarter, according to PropertyShark.
The report was based on data pertaining to the closed sales of single-family homes, condos, and co-ops. Package deals were excluded.
