Queens and the Bronx are making a comeback.
Home sales rose in the double digits in both boroughs during the first quarter of the year, as competitive prices and low interest rates brought buyers back to the table, according to a report from the Real Estate Board of New York.
“These are areas with a lot of middle-income housing where low interest rates really make a difference,” REBNY senior vice president Mike Slattery said.
Overall, the New York City residential real estate market held steady in the quarter, with sales up less than 1% compared with last year, though they surged 16% from the previous quarter.
The average price of a New York City home — one- to three-family houses as well as apartments — dipped 1% to $723,000.
“There is a certain confidence level that has taken hold in the marketplace,” Slattery said.
Queens witnessed the biggest number of sales in the quarter, 2,919, a 13% jump from a year ago. The average price of a home in the borough dipped 2% to $391,000.
Neighborhoods that saw a bump in transactions included Flushing, Rego Park, Forest Hills and Kew Gardens.
Jim Pappas, the owner of Rock Realty in Jackson Heights, said he saw activity in Jackson Heights and Astoria begin to heat up in January. But he said it is still very tough to secure a mortgage.
“Demand is robust,” Pappas said. “It’s a combination of the weather and the interest rates, which are pretty much phenomenal. People feel the economy has stabilized. We have hit a bottom and hopefully things will stabilize.”
Over in Long Island City, condo sales sizzled, surging more than 50% compared with the previous quarter.
Among the condos enjoying strong demand are The View, which is commanding a hefty $950 per square foot, and The Industry, said Eric Benaim, CEO of Modern Spaces, which handles sales for both buildings.
“The market is extremely busy. We are getting 25 to 40 groups of people at our open houses,” Benaim said. “Almost every few weeks we raise the prices. We’ve had three to four bidding wars.”
Over in the Bronx, sales rose 14%, to 549 transactions, while the average price of a home fell 6% to $331,000. Neighborhoods that boasted a high number of sales included Riverdale, Pelham Bay, Throggs Neck and City Island.
“My business in Riverdale, year-to-date, is up 25%,” said Anthony DeVivio, Halstead Property’s director of sales for upper Manhattan and Riverdale.
DeVivio said he has also begun to see a pickup in activity on the Lower Grand Concourse, between 149th and 169th Sts.
“The activity is even a little shocking to me. My sales are very high in that area,” he said. “There is an absolute renaissance. It is becoming a very hip area of the Bronx.”
