Queens Home Prices, Sales Decline

We’ve taken a look at the new third-quarter housing numbers for Queens from Jonathan Miller and Prudential Douglas Elliman, and it looks like prices kept falling through the summer into the fall--this time, along with sales.

The average home sales price did increase from the quarter before (when it was $482,971) to reach $484,847. But it's barely noticeable against the larger drop from the third quarter of last year, when the average was $499,388.

The median price also dropped, but more steeply. The third quarter's $455,000 is 3 percent lower than the second’s $469,000 and 9 percent below the $500,000 in the third quarter of 2006.

So, while the higher-end properties in the land of the 7-train may be sustaining high prices, the average property is getting cheaper.

But, in a change from last quarter’s sales increase, the Queens market slowed down over the summer. Only 2,464 properties changed hands, a 20 percent decrease from 3,098 the quarter before and a 12 percent decrease from the 2,790 in the third quarter of 2006.

These numbers strike a stark contrast to Mr. Miller’s reports of rising prices and sales in the Manhattan market. While the average apartment sales price in Manhattan increased 2.7 percent from the second quarter, the demand for real estate continues on the island, with sales up 65.6 percent over the third quarter of 2006.