Queens home prices heat up in first quarter

The average sales price of a home in Queens jumped more than 10% in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same quarter last year, according to a new report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel.

The average price of a Queens home was $429,544, up from $389,420 the year before, according to the quarterly report. This marks the highest first quarter result since 2008.

During the first quarter, the total number of home sales in the borough was 3,156, up 32.8% from the same quarter a year ago.

“The first quarter Queens housing market was a period of rising prices after an extended period of stability, declining inventory and rising sales,” the report stated.

The price and number of sales, however, are both down somewhat — less than 1% — from the fourth quarter of 2013.

Inventory in the borough is also down, at its second lowest level in the past nine years. There were 5,617 listings in the first quarter of 2014 compared to 6,496 the same quarter a year ago, representing a decline of 13.5%. [DNA] —TRD