Queens co-ops lead NYC sales in Q4

Residential sales across the city up 30 percent in Q4, though prices fell slightly

New York City home sales according to the Real Estate Board of New York
New York City home sales according to the Real Estate Board of New York

Queens co-ops were hot in the final quarter of 2013 — in fact, hotter than in any other borough.  Co-op sales in Queens jumped 62 percent over the same period in 2012, to 1,349, to lead even Brooklyn, which saw 716 co-op sales, according to a report by the Real Estate Board of New York released today.

Rego Park, Forest Hills and Kew Gardens neighborhoods topped the list for the number of home sales at 465, followed by 430 in Flushing and 414 in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst. Queens homes sold on average for $432,000, up 3 percent.

Certain areas of Queens are booming, according to Diane Hermanowski, a broker for Douglas Elliman with several Brooklyn and Queens properties listings. Hermanowski named Ridgewood, a neighborhood with a median sales price of $927,000, as one of those up-and-coming areas.

“It’s the same thing that’s happening in Greenpoint and Williamsburg,” Hermanowski said. “The properties in Ridgewood are selling like hot cakes over the last six to eight months, and those sales are happening by the first open house.” In the last six months, 161 properties sold in Ridgewood, according to StreetEasy.

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In all of New York City, housing sales in the fourth quarter of 2013 rose 29 percent from the same period last year, to $9.6 billion, according to the report. Sales in Manhattan totaled $5.3 billion in the fourth quarter, up 20 percent from the same period of 2012, and $1.9 billion in Brooklyn, a 38 percent spike. That’s not surprising, considering Brooklyn home prices are at an 11-year-high, according to data from Douglas Elliman.

On average, New Yorkers sold their homes for $760,000 in the fourth quarter, down 2 percent from 2012.

A board member of REBNY wasn’t immediately available for comment.