Renters in Long Island City now have a plethora of options for new homes, something that is working out to their advantage.
Supply is starting to outpace demand in the Queens neighborhood, especially among luxury rental buildings, which is forcing some developers to reduce rents and provide tenants with other concessions, such as paying their broker fees or offering them one or multiple months of free rent, according to the Wall Street Journal. This is happening even as new buildings come stacked with amenities like swimming pools and basketball courts.
In 2017, developers brought almost 3,000 new units to the neighborhood, and more than 3,000 are expected to arrive in 2018 and 2019 as well. Median rents at new buildings in the area peaked at $3,365 a month in July but have since fallen each month, hitting $2,765 in January. In Brooklyn, median rent for a new apartment is at $3,103, while in Manhattan, it is $4,750.
Developers of the new buildings said they are still happy with how leasing in Long Island City has gone so far and that competition from all the new buildings is helping to improve sales and let more people know about the neighborhood.
Rockrose Development Corp. put a 51-story building on the market last spring and has so far leased 85 percent of its 974 apartments, company president Justin Elghanayan told the Journal.
“The influx has not stopped,” he said. “There is a huge demand.” [WSJ] – Eddie Small