Queens Multifamily Report – Spring 2021
While neighboring boroughs are showing improving fundamentals, Queens seems to be in for a bumpier ride.
Queens rent evolution, click to enlarge
As was the case for most gateway markets, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic resulted in sharp rent drops across New York City boroughs. And while nationwide rents were up 0.3 percent on a trailing three-month (T3) basis through March to $1,407, Queens is yet to see an uptick. As of March, the metro’s average rates were down 0.6 percent to $2,427, while year-over-year they decreased 9.4 percent. Meanwhile, the occupancy rate in stabilized communities dropped 130 basis points year-over-year through February to 97.6 percent.
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New York City employment shrank 11.4 percent in 2020, entailing a loss of more than 750,000 positions, with all sectors in the negative territory. As with the bulk of U.S. metros, COVID-19 restrictions translated into sharp declines for the leisure and hospitality sector, which shed almost 300,000 jobs.
Queens sales volume and number of properties sold, click to enlarge
The number of completed units in the 12 months ending in March nosedived 80.9 percent to 406 units from the previous 12 months, marking a five-year low. Additionally, transaction volume for communities of more than 50 units totaled less than $50 million in the 12 months ending in March, representing a decrease of more than 60 percent year-over-year. By the end of the year, Yardi Matrix expects the overall average New York City rent to increase 2.2 percent.
