Queens condo market dips slightly in Q3

The Queens condo market has slowed down a bit, but not by much.

The number residential units approved in the borough fell slightly during the third quarter of the year, dropping down to 216 from 261 in the second quarter, according to The Real Deal’s analysis of data from the state Attorney General’s office.

This was still higher than the 183 units approved during the first quarter of the year and was overall a fairly average number for Queens. Dating back to 2012, the borough has had nine quarters with a higher amount of approved condo units and 13 quarters with a lower amount.

The most recent peak for Queens over the past five years came during the first quarter of 2016, when 607 units were approved. The borough had another strong showing in the second quarter of that year, when 487 units were approved.

The units approved during July, August and September of this year were spread across four projects. The largest one was the Elmhurst Plaza Condominium, a 138-unit project located at 45-15 82nd Street and 45-16 83rd Street. A 66-unit project was also approved at 65-38 Austin Street in Rego Park, and two six-unit projects were approved at 18-93 Cornelia Street in Ridgewood and 149-17 Sanford Avenue in Murray Hill.

The Elmhurst Plaza Condo has an expected sellout of about $113 million, and the Austin Street project has an expected sellout of about $49 million.

Brooklyn was a much more popular spot for condos than Queens this quarter, far outpacing it with 525 new units approved. This was typical for the two boroughs, as the number of approved condo units in Queens has only been higher than the number in Brooklyn during four quarters over the past five years.