Apartment building in Woodside (Photo: Queens Post)
Oct. 19, 2021 By Allie Griffin
Apartment rentals in Queens are largely going for less than they were before the pandemic threw the market in a tailspin, a new real estate report shows.
Rent prices continue to trend upward but have yet to reach pre-pandemic costs in the vast majority of Queens neighborhoods, a market report conducted by real estate company StreetEasy found.
For most Queens rentals, the median asking rents for the third quarter of 2021 is lower than the median asking rents in the third quarter of 2019.
The exception to this is Long Island City, where some of the most expensive rentals in the borough can be found. Third-quarter median rental prices in the waterfront neighborhood this year have exceeded prices observed in the third quarter of 2019.
Long Island City apartments are listed at a median price of $3,345 — $70 more than the 2019 Q3 median price of $3,275, according to the report.
The Long Island City market is among the city’s most expensive. Rental prices in expensive neighborhoods have nearly reached or are above pre-pandemic costs, the report found.
In other often sought-after Queens neighborhoods, rents remain far below 2019 levels.
For instance, Astoria rentals are more than $100 less than they were two years ago. The median asking rent in quarter three of this year was $2,175 — $132 lower than $2,307, the third quarter rent in 2019, according to the report.
Sunnyside and Jackson Heights rents are each $100 cheaper now than pre-COVID-19 as well, the report shows. The median asking price in each neighborhood was $1,900 in quarter three of 2021 compared to $2,000 in the third quarter of 2019.
Ridgewood apartment prices, meanwhile, are nearly $200 less now than before the pandemic. The median rent was $2,500 in the third quarter of 2021 — $199 less than the median rent of $2,699 two years ago, according to the report.
Elmhurst, one of the neighborhoods hardest hit by the pandemic, is not far off. Rental prices are $122 less now than before COVID-19. The median price in 2021 Q3 was $1,853, less than $1,975, the median price in 2019 Q3, according to the report.
| Neighborhood | Median Asking Rent – Q3 2019 | Median Asking Rent – Q3 2021 | Differential |
| Astoria | $2,307 | $2,175 | -$132 |
| Elmhurst | $1,975 | $1,853 | -$122 |
| Jackson Heights | $2,000 | $1,900 | -$100 |
| Ridgewood | $2,699 | $2,500 | -$199 |
| Sunnyside | $2,000 | $1,900 | -$100 |
Citywide, the trend remains true according to the report. The median asking rent across the city during the third quarter was $2,699 — about $100 short of pre-pandemic highs.
