It’s no exodus, but some New Yorkers want more space, and they’re finding it in Long Island City. Three-bedroom condo sales in LIC jumped to 62 percent of the market share during the second quarter, accoridng to a new report.
According to data from Modern Spaces NYC, a real estate group with offices scattered across New York City, 62 percent of apartment purchases in LIC in the second quarter of 2016 were for three-bedroom apartments, compared to a 46 percent share in the first quarter. This demand for space helped push the average price for condos up to $1,235,524, from $1,178,304 in the first quarter.
“There have been less and less three-bedrooms coming online over the years,” Modern Spaces NYC CEO Eric Benaim said. Benaim and the team at Modern Spaces NYC have pushed developers to place more three-bedrooms in new projects because, as Benaim described, they’ve been seeing a trend of more families relocating to the area.
Benaim grew up in Queens, so he’s quite familiar with the area. When looking at LIC, a neighborhood he’s called home for the past ten years, he equates the area to that of a “small town feel in the big city.” The community has watched more amenities come to the neighborhood, including supermarkets, pharmacies and a good school district — all of which he says has helped propel internal growth.
In the past eight years, Benaim explained how there have been roughly 1,000 new units coming to market per year since the development boom, and that those would be absorbed quickly due to demand. There are now around 10,000 units under construction that will come to market late next year, he says.
An overview of LIC apartment sales.
LIC Rental prices taper off in the larger spaces
The average price per square foot for all condos in LIC was $1,113 in the second quarter, the report says, but that number boosts up to $1,241 when only considering three-bedroom units.
The average price per square foot for luxury rental units in LIC was $56. For the average price per square foot, there was a $9 difference between studio apartments and four-bedroom units. For walk-ups and elevator rentals, the average price per square foot was $43 and $42, respectively.
The average closed prices of condo sales in LIC basically says each room in the house after the first is worth about $450,000. Accoridng to the report, average closed price for one-bedrooms was $692,161 in Q2, while the average closed price for two-bedrooms was $1,177,655 and three-bedrooms was $1,665,056. The highest price paid was at a development called The Corner, and that price was $1,680,112.
There has been a 15 percent increase since the first quarter in average price per square foot for closed sales in LIC.
Average price per square foot for condos in LIC over the past two years.
