Queens Plaza subway station(Photo by Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)
May. 16, 2023 By Julia Moro
For many Queens residents, proximity to public transit has always been a crucial factor to consider when looking for an apartment.
According to a new RentHop report, new developments in Queens are driving up the rent of one-bedroom units, reaching $3,800 and over, along convenient subway lines.
In Long Island City, at 21st Street, served by the G train, the median rent is $4,057, which increased by 6.7% from 2022. Close by, on Vernon Boulevard and Jackson Avenue along the 7-line, the median rent in the area is $4,090 — an 8.1% increase from 2022. And the hub of transit in Queens, Queensboro Plaza, served by the 7 and express N/W lines, saw a staggering increase in the median rent from the previous year. In this area, the median rent is $3,837, with an increase of 10.9% from 2022.
RentHop mentions in their report that luxury high-rises could be to blame for the spike in rental prices.
“In Queens, buildings like One Archer at 92-27 160th St. introduced 315 apartments to the market, where 90 of them were affordable and the remaining 225 charged higher rental prices, driving up the average rent near the Sutphin Boulevard – Archer Avenue stop by 24.10% since last year,” according to the report.
RentHop’s theory could be true. In Long Island City, near the MTA stops previously mentioned, we can see luxury rental buildings concentrated along subway lines.
Luxury real estate developments in Long Island City. (Photo via Google Maps)
Elsewhere in Queens, at an end to the N/W rail line, we have the Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard stop. In this area, the median rent is $2,200, which increased by 12.8% since 2022. Right below this subway stop, developers are building a new Target, set to open its doors sometime this year. Also relatively new to the area is The Rowan, completed in 2021, which is just a block away from the Ditamrs Boulevard stop.
Renthop found that more than 94.1%, or 445 stops, in New York City saw rent increases this year.