A little more housing, a lot more higher rents

QNS 

The average rental price in Queens for studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units maintained an upward trend from the previous year in November 2024, according to a report by the real estate firm M.N.S. Real Estate.

Year-over-year, Queens experienced a 4.44% increase in its average rental price, from $2,763 in November 2023 to $2,885 in November 2024. Studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units each experienced jumps in their respective rental prices over this period of time.

Studios in Queens had a 3.74% boost in the average cost of rent, from $2,239 in November 2023 to $2,322 in November 2024. Despite the year-over-year increase, this cost actually presents a slight drop from the $2,337 rent in October 2024. Among the 11 Queens neighborhoods included in the study, studios in Woodside/Maspeth had the most annual growth, from $2,369 last year to $2,691 this year.

One-bedroom units experienced a 3.92% rise in the average rental price, from $2,673 in November 2023 to $2,778 in November 2024. As was the case with studios, the one-bedroom units actually had a slight dip in rental price from the previous month’s $2,782 average cost. The Rego Park neighborhood had the biggest spike in average rental price, from $2,602 last year to $2,965 this year.

Two-bedroom units had the most significant boost in the average cost of rent among the unit types, rising 5.3%, from $3,375 in November 2023 to $3,554 in November 2024. However, this new cost is the lowest seen for a month since $3,551 in July 2024. Sunnyside had by far the highest jump among the Queens neighborhoods from last year, going up from $2,754 in 2023 to $3,454 in 2024.

 QNS

The median rent in Northwest Queens rose year-over-year in November 2024, marking the second consecutive month to experience such an increase, while the number of lease signings and available inventory continued to climb, according to a report by the real estate firm Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

Northwest Queens encompasses the neighborhoods of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside.

Over this period, the median rental price increased 8.9%, from $3,175 in November 2023 to $3,458 in November 2024. Units ranging from studios to three-bedrooms each experienced jumps in the respective median rent. One-bedroom units had the most significant increase, going up 14.1% from $2,998 last year to $3,422 this year.

One big contributing factor to the maintained rise in the median rent is bidding wars becoming more common for the many new listings in this area, allowing for many rentals to end up with higher prices than what was originally listed.

For the 14th consecutive month, new leases signed were up year-over-year in northwest Queens. There was a 64.9% increase in new leases being signed, from 416 in November 2023 to 686 in November 2024. Similar to the median rent, new leases went up across the board among each type of housing unit, with one-bedroom units spiking the most. New leases among one-bedroom units rose 87.4%, from 183 last year to 343 this year.

Oh, the story about the picture.That is actually the root cause for the rent being too damn high and getting higher and higher and will continue to do so for the City Of Mess. The word affordable has become doublespeak by the NYC Housing Department. 

Queens Post

New York City has launched a housing lottery for 72 units at AURA, a 37-story mixed-use building in Long Island City.

 Located at 23-10 42nd Rd., AURA features 240 residential units, with 168 offered at market rate. The 72 remaining units have all been designated for individuals who earn 130% of the area median income, with an asset cap of $201,890.

Studios account for 25 of the units set aside, 17 of which have a monthly rent of $3,423 and are meant for residents earning an annual income ranging from $117,360-$161,590. The other eight units cost $3,434 a month in rent and are meant for those earning $117,738-$161,590 annually. No more than two people can reside in each of these units.

Another 34 units are one-bedroom and are intended for up to three residents. Five of these units have a monthly rent of $3,674 and are intended for households earning $125,966-$181,740 in annual income. The other 29 one-bedroom units have a monthly rent of $3,661 and each household must combine to earn $125,520-$181,740 annually.

The last 13 units are two-bedroom. These units have a monthly rent of $4,376. Households of up to five people can reside there, as long as they have a combined annual income ranging from $150,035-$218,010.

 

The rent is too damn higher

 

 Queens Chronicle

In a vote affecting the roughly million New York households in rent-stabilized apartments, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board voted Monday night to allow rent increases of 2.75 percent for one-year leases and 5.25 percent for two-year leases beginning Oct. 1.

The 5-4 vote capped a contentious voting session, part of an annual process in which the city board weighs landlord and tenant economics in setting permitted rent hikes.

A crowded tenant group on the Park Avenue sidewalk outside Hunter College calling for a rent freeze preceded the vote inside. Eleven demonstrators were arrested after police ordered them to step away from the entrance.

The final decision comes after a volatile few months of meetings, including a preliminary vote April 30 during which two tenant members of the board walked out in protest. In that earlier meeting, the board decided on a potential range of rent adjustments of between 2 and 4.5 percent for a one-year lease and 4 to 6.5 percent for two-year leases.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a former tenant organizer, spoke at the protest, calling on the board to decide on the “lowest rent increase humanly possible.”

“Raising rents on tenants does not help landlords that are suffering,” Williams said to the crowd. “You can’t raise rent on people that do not have it.”

Landlords and their representatives assert larger increases are necessary to help them maintain buildings and afford taxes.

“Rent is income that buildings need to meet escalating costs, and we are hoping for an upward adjustment that recognizes the need to maintain buildings that are at and approaching 100 years old,” Michael Tobman of the Rent Stabilization Association told THE CITY.

According to an annual report the Rent Guidelines Board produces on building operating costs, buildings that contain rent stabilized apartments had expenses projected to increase 3.9 percent this year. Meanwhile, tenant advocates generally argue that raising rent to make up for operating expenses will only result in more evictions and homelessness.

“There are small landlords that are dealing with issues and need assistance,” Williams told THE CITY. “But we need the landlords to get help from the state and the city, and not from tenants who can’t afford it.”

 

The rent got too damn higher

Queens Chronicle 

According to multiple reports, hundreds of tenants were outside Hunter College in the Upper East Side jeering at members of the Rent Guidelines Board after the group voted 5-4 last Wednesday night to move forward with a 6 percent rent hike over the next two years.

Mayor Adams thanked members of the RGB after the vote on June 21 for protecting rent-stabilized tenants from unsustainable rent increases, while also ensuring small property owners have the necessary resources to maintain their buildings and preserve high-quality and affordable homes for New Yorkers.

“Finding the right balance is never easy, but I believe the board has done so this year — as evidenced by affirmative votes from both tenant and public representatives,” Adams said in a statement.

Rents on one-year leases will go up by 3 percent, and there will be a bifurcated increase of 2.75 and then 3.2 percent on two-year leases.

Earlier this year, the RGB also released a report that it wanted to increase rent by up to 15.75 percent over two years because of rising of fuel costs and inflation. Last month, it approved hikes up to 7 percent in a preliminary vote before going down to 6 percent as a final increase.

Jeremy Maldonado, a tenant activist from South Ozone Park, who also works as a community organizer in Far Rockaway and Flushing for New York Communities for Change, a progressive nonprofit, was disappointed in the mayor.

“By vetoing critical reforms to the city’s voucher program and raising rents for rent stabilized tenants, Mayor Adams has turned his back on tenants,” Maldonado said via email. “Thousands more New Yorkers will face homelessness and eviction because the Adams administration is failing to take the housing crisis seriously.”

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica) said that while the rent increases were on the lower end of what was proposed, the hikes will further exacerbate the homelessness and housing crisis at a time when New Yorkers can least afford it.

“As our city grapples with a record-high shelter population, an affordable housing shortage that remains unabated, and rising costs, New York City tenants increasingly struggle to make ends meet,” Speaker Adams said in a statement.

The speaker also said the rent hikes will deepen the lack of affordability and make it more difficult for New Yorkers to remain in their homes and work in the city they love.

She said there needs to be action on the state level to address the housing crisis.

 

HOORAY! THE RENTS TOO DAMN HIGH AGAIN!

 

 NY Post

 Yes, Queens!

Despite consecutive quarters of plummeting rents across the city following the March 2020 onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for certain landlords.

Queens has seen its highest-priced tier of rentals — or homes priced more than $2,500 per month — recover 99% of its pre-pandemic highs, according to just-released data from real-estate portal StreetEasy. That makes this borough’s high-end rental market the first in New York City to reach recovery in the wake of COVID.

It means that renters have flocked to prime Queens neighborhoods, including Long Island City and Astoria, instead of normally more expensive Manhattan and Brooklyn — ratcheting up housing demand in the process and making luxury property landlords raise their prices, StreetEasy adds. 

But for many, the rent can be too damn high. The borough’s lower- and mid-tier rental homes are far from their pre-pandemic levels, with StreetEasy adding that prices have only recently begun to recover — and are doing so slowly. That means, depending on renters’ budgets, there are still deals to be had. 

Overall, when compared to Manhattan and Brooklyn, Queens still remains relatively more affordable. Queens’ median rent was $2,200 in July — whereas for Manhattan it was $3,000 and, for Brooklyn, $2,600. The report does not mention The Bronx or Staten Island.

Rents go down near subway stations

 

 QNS

With many New Yorkers avoiding the subways this past year, rents for apartments above major train stations, including several in Queens, saw a severe drop in price during the first quarter of 2021, a new report found. 

Rents decreased in the areas immediately surrounding 418 of the city’s 473 subway stops from January 2021 until the end of March 2021, according to the report from RentHop. In Queens, the biggest drop came around the M train’s Forest Avenue stop in Ridgewood, where the median rent for one-bedroom apartments dropped by over 21 percent year-over-year. 

Renting for $1,800 on average, the one-bedroom apartments’ drop in price around the Forest Avenue stop was among the top five biggest declines in pricing across the city. 

Just one little unsettling thing about this data. The median rent nearby Mott Ave. in Far Rockaway went up, which is where "affordable housing" apartment buildings just went up. And the other four areas in the Bronx that saw the rents rise follow recent rezonings approved by the Blaz.