TRD Pro: Queens’ top 10 neighborhoods for Q3 home sales

Forest Hills was king of Queens County last quarter, by both dollar volume and number of deals

43 Greenway Terrace in Forest Hills (Illustration by Kevin Cifuentes for The Real Deal with Getty Images, Zillow)
43 Greenway Terrace in Forest Hills (Illustration by Kevin Cifuentes for The Real Deal with Getty Images, Zillow)

The following is a preview of one of the hundreds of data sets available on TRD Pro — the one-stop real estate terminal that provides all the data and market information you need.

Queens is known for many things. High-priced real estate generally hasn’t been one of them.

That appears to be changing. The median sale price in Queens has posted an annual increase for eight consecutive quarters, according to appraiser Miller Samuel, home sales hit a 15-year high earlier this year and one condo tower in Long Island City is aiming for a $1 billion sellout.

But when it comes to the city’s largest and most diverse borough, it’s worth zooming in to get a clearer sense of where the action is.

The Real Deal analyzed the top transactions recorded in Queens between July 1 and Sept. 30 to determine the borough’s 10 most active neighborhoods for home sales. Only transactions recorded in ACRIS during the third quarter were included.

The sample was rather large: Just among Queens’ 10 busiest neighborhoods, buyers spent a combined $1.23 billion across 1,544 residential transactions in the third quarter.

A further analysis of the top five transactions in each of those top 10 neighborhoods — a total of 50 deals — showed a broad range of brokerages represented.

Daniel Gale Sotheby’s led the way with three sales that combined for $8.5 million. A local player, Flushing-based E Realty, also had three sales for a combined $6.1 million.

Click through the tabs on the chart below to toggle between the top 10 neighborhoods. Each tab lists a given neighborhood’s five most expensive sales in the quarter.

For a complete list of top Manhattan sales, visit the TRD Pro dashboard.

1. Forest Hills | $164.5 million | 265 transactions

The top neighborhood in the ranking was Forest Hills with $164.5 million in sales across 265 deals, the most among the 10 neighborhoods.

GiGi Malek (Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty)

GiGi Malek (Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty)

The priciest sale was at 43 Greenway Terrace for $3.8 million. GiGi Malek of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International was the listing broker on the deal, which was for a seven-bedroom home built in the 1920s and designed by architect Grosvenor Atterbury. According to Patch.com, it was the fourth-most-expensive home ever sold in Forest Hills Gardens, despite falling short of its asking price by $150,000.

2. Hunters Point | $159.7.1 million | 134 transactions

Second in the ranking was Hunters Point with 134 transactions totaling $159.7 million.

The top sale for the neighborhood, a subsection of Long Island City, was for a century-old townhouse at 45-12 11th Street, which sold for $3.2 million. Corcoran’s Cary Tamura and Kim Rodriguez had the listing.

The three-story, 4,000-square-foot townhouse, which was built in 1903, went through an extensive renovation starting in 2014 that took several years to complete.

3. Flushing | $136.5 million | 189 transactions

Third on the list, Flushing saw 189 transactions in the quarter totaling $136.5 million.

The priciest was at 132 Pople Avenue, a 1,900-square-foot property which sold for $6.5 million. Per Redfin insights, Flushing home prices were up 2.3 percent year-over-year in October, with a median-priced home selling for approximately $660,000.

4. Murray Hill | $128.5 million | 151 transactions

Murray Hill came in at No. 4 with 151 transactions totaling $128.5 million. The top sale was a detached colonial at 33-26 145th Place, which went for $2.3 million.

Landmark International was the listing broker, selling the 4,200-square-foot home. The 11-bedroom house comes with two wood-burning fireplaces, two balconies off the third floor and a detached garage.

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5. Astoria | $127.9 million | 118 transactions

Concluding the top five neighborhoods was Astoria, falling just short of the fourth spot with $127.9 million in sales volume across 118 deals.

The top sale in the neighborhood was a two-story, 45-foot-wide house built in 1940 at 25-23 Newtown Avenue. It was sold for $4.8 million by Development Site Advisors, which marketed the property as either a residence or a redevelopment opportunity.

Development Site Advisors has listed several other Queens properties for sale, including Astoria parcels at 25-92 31st Street, 23-14 31st Street, 11-32 31st Street, 25-56 31st Street and 26-37 30th Street.

6. Elmhurst | $123.9 million | 175 transactions

Just outside the top five, but not by much, was Elmhurst with 175 sales totaling $123.9 million.

Maluva Property Group’s Kleber Silva had the top deal at 78-10 Woodside Avenue, which sold in September for $1.8 million.

The townhouse was built in 1970 and features 13 rooms across its 3,500 square feet, with three bedrooms, three stories and three units, should the buyer choose to rent some out, as well as a walk-out basement and attached garage.

7. Jackson Heights | $103.4 million | 156 transactions

Jackson Heights was the last Queens neighborhood to cross the $100 million threshold in the quarter, with 156 transactions totaling $103.4 million.

A 1950s-era townhouse took the top spot at 34-11 75th Street, selling for $1.7 million. RE/MAX was on the sell side while Century Homes Realty Group represented the buyer.

The detached three-story brick home spans 1,900 square feet and previously sold in 2020, according to property records, though no price was listed for that transaction.

According to Redfin, the median sale price in Jackson Heights dipped 17.1 percent year-over-year in October, to $480,000 — approximately where it stood in 2019.

No. 8: Bayside | $98.6 million | 98 transactions

At eighth, Bayside came in with 98 transactions totaling $98.6 million.

Block & Lot Real Estate Services’ Teresa V Cheng had the listing for 220-12 46th Avenue, which sold for $2.6 million — the top sale in Bayside last quarter.

The 4,300-square-foot home was built in 2000, has five bedrooms and sits on an 11,000-square-foot lot adjacent to Oakland Lake, one of the few naturally occurring lakes in the five boroughs.

9. Middle Village | $96.1 million | 110 transactions

Middle Village notched $96.1 million in third-quarter sales across 110 transactions.

The top sale was for a single-family home at 57-51 74th Street. N & H Realty Group’s James Zhang brokered the $1.9 million deal for the 4,000-square-foot brick home, which sits on an 11,500 square-foot-lot. The home includes five bedrooms, three bathrooms, two separate garages (one attached and one detached) as well as an in-ground pool in the backyard.

10. South Jamaica | $95.2 million | 148 transactions

Finishing off the list was South Jamaica, with $95.2 million across 148 transactions.

EXP Realty took the top sale at 120-46 144th Street, for $1.2 million. The townhouse was built in 1945 but renovated this year and comes with six bedrooms, five bathrooms and two balconies.

Per the Department of Building’s online database, recent applications were filed for updated construction including curb cuts, new fixtures and a new fence, all filed within the last year.