The vast majority of the newer inventory in LIC are rental units. Most of the high-rise buildings that you can see along the waterfront or in the Court Square area are rental buildings. On the sales side, there are number of low-rise condo buildings and more on the way. Towards the end of 2018, the median ask price for a 2 bedroom is $1,322,000 with 60 apartments on the market. Looking at verified sales from the past year, listings in LIC sold at 98.2% of asking price – with approximately 16% selling above ask. This is while Manhattan is in the slowest market since 2008. Putting these numbers together you can project the 2018 median sales price of a 2 bedroom apartment in LIC at $1,298,204.
I happen to live in Hunters Point (the southernmost part of LIC) and am pretty familiar with the neighborhood. From Newtown Creek which separates LIC from Greenpoint to the still semi-industrial Dutch Kills, the northernmost part of LIC above the 59th St. Bridge. I recently had listed what is likely the nicest private residence in LIC, known to residents of Dutch Kills as “The Firehouse” an 1840s federal-style, 25 foot wide, converted former firehouse. If you are thinking about buying real estate in LIC, its good to know about new developments and businesses moving there. Its also good to know about things like the Queensbridge housing projects – which happen to be the largest low income housing development in the United States that sits along the eastern edge of LIC just above the Queensboro Bridge. I think of the neighborhoods in LIC as, Hunters Point, The Waterfront, Court Square/Queens Plaza, Dutch Kills and The Queensbridge Projects. Each of the areas have their own distinct characteristics and opportunities and difficulties from a real estate perspective.
The Waterfront – Home to Gantry State Park and its recent, wetlands-friendly, beautiful expansion and a number of high-rise rental buildings with some of the best views of the City to be found. This is the domain of TF Cornerstone, an active big developer in LIC with several large rental buildings there and also just spent $300m on a new development site in Hunters Point. Great access to the waterfront and view from the high rises are the big draws to this area. Depending on which building you are in, there may actually be a bit of a walk from a subway although the buildings to provide shuttle busses in some cases. Watch out for the wind-tunnel that is Center Blvd in the winter.
Court Square/Queensboro Plaza – Legend has it that Citibank opened One Court Square in 1990 with the promise of developing the surrounding neighborhood which didn’t really materialize- until recently – and not due to any efforts of Citigroup but more due to rezoning of LIC and the developers that have moved in. While still transitioning from a fairly industrial low-density area to a high-density residential and commercial hub of Queens, you can expect not only a lot more people moving into this neighborhood but also that it will be the domain of chain stores like Starbucks and Chipotle (which have already moved in) along with popular places like M.Wells Steakhouse. Someone would be smart to plan a shopping mall here as it will certainly continue to be the commercial and retail epicenter of western Queens. There are a couple of blocks of beautiful landmarked townhouses here and some new low-rise condo inventory but the real story here as far as real estate is living in the new high-rise, amenity-laden buildings that are sprouting from the earth like weeds.
Dutch Kills – North of Queensboro Bridge and east of the waterfront sits this still semi-industrial area with some new rental buildings as well as a good number of single and multifamily mixed use townhouses. If you want a townhouse for under $2m and don’t mind being a bit farther away from the bar/restaurant action and waiting for it to creep up towards you, then this is your place. There are some great old buildings from the 1800s, mixed together with a number of boutique hotels (a product of rezoning as well) and a number of one and two story industrial buildings which are waiting for developers to pounce. Overall this is probably the best long term bet on real estate appreciation and development possibilities but you could be waiting 5+ years to see big changes. Also worth noting here is the planned development of Sunnyside Yards, no doubt inspired in part by the success of Hudson Yards – a city plan to develop on top of the LIRR tracks on the easter edge of LIC which promises to bring another huge influx of development in coming years.
