Long Island City could receive another 15,000 apartments if the City Council approves a rezoning proposal set for a vote later this month.
If the neighborhood’s past evolution is any indication, a new set of sites is likely an attractive prospect for developers, who have delivered thousands of homes since a major rezoning in 2001.
Long Island City has transformed in recent years from an aging industrial landscape to a desirable residential hub. The area’s development boom largely started with rental projects before luxury condo towers sprang up, taking advantage of an influx of demand during the pandemic.
Long Island City’s price growth is undeniable, even though long-term comparisons can be murky as there were few homes for sale before the rezoning efforts were implemented. Between 2014 and 2024, average sales prices in the neighborhood more than doubled, from $287,000 to $667,000, according to a study report from Property Shark.
In September, the median sales price was $805,000, up 11 percent from the same month last year, according to Redfin data. During the same period, the average price per square meter increased by more than 5 percent to above $1,000.
One of the most notable projects in the area is Chris Jiashu Xu’s Skyline Tower, which has pushed the boundaries of price expectations since launching sales in 2019. At the time, Xu expected the 800 units to sell out for more than $1 billion.
A penthouse in the building set a new record for price per square foot in 2023 when it closed for $2.3 million, or $2,300 per square foot. The tower is also home to the most expensive rental property in Queens, a 67th-floor penthouse that managed to find a new tenant earlier this year with a final asking price of $11,500 per month, the New York Post reported.
However, the building at 3 Court Square is not without its challenges. Several of the penthouses, priced between $2 million and $3.4 million, remain untraded. Additionally, 90 condo owners at the tower sued the developers in 2022 over allegations that early wins announced by the team behind the project actually misrepresented actual sales figures, which later turned out to be far lower than those shared at the time many buyers signed contracts.
Despite the delay at Skyline, developers don’t appear to be backing away from building apartments in the area. Montperia Group and JLS Construction Group are planning a 40-story tower, including more than 200 apartments, at 24-02 Queens Plaza South, backed by a $115 million construction loan from Maxim Credit Group.
Earlier this week, Hang Dong Zhang’s BZ Development Group finally filed plans to demolish a three-story building at 23-08 Jackson Avenue, six years after purchasing it. The developer plans to replace the 18,000-square-foot building with luxury apartments called Moon Court Square.
Not so fast…
New York City’s mayoral elections are finally here, but the jury is still out on whether a potential Zohran Mamdani victory will prompt wealthy residents to pack up.
Since the Assemblyman won the Democratic primary earlier this summer, realtors and agents have predicted doom and gloom for the real estate market if Mamdani gains the upper hand. The main warning is the refrain that New York’s wealthiest residents will flee the city for fear of rising taxes and crime.
However, others in the industry have pushed back on that narrative. Some predict that sidelined buyers will reenter the market as prices fall, according to A Restrained article published earlier this week. Others, including Serhant’s Peter Zaitzeff, characterized most of the chatter as conjecture.
“Obviously there’s a lot of talk, but it’s just talk,” Zaitzeff told the newspaper. “New Yorkers love to talk, they love to sensationalize, but New York is New York.”
Still, many agents are on edge, especially as agents in the suburbs report an increase in activity in the run-up to the election. The New York Post called rising prices and competition in Greenwich, Connecticut and Westchester a response to the impending change in leadership.
“We’ve seen bidding wars, and we’ve seen people coming from New York City,” Joy Metalios of Houlihan Lawrence told the outlet.
Compass-Heather Harrison, who works with her husband Zach, told the Post that Westchester is “even busier than it was during Covid.”
But the duo was quoted in Curbed saying that most people moving to the suburbs were already planning to do so, regardless of the election. They added that perhaps the only real consequence of the upcoming election is that suburban buyers are more likely to pull the trigger out of fear that even more competitors will enter the ring, given all the press coverage.
Even though the Mamdani-related issues are far-fetched, the industry is still not making any changes. After Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the race in September, real estate professionals who supported the incumbent sent their donations to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Early voting ends on Sunday, November 2 at 5:00 PM. Election Day voting starts at 6am on Tuesday, November 4 and closes at 9pm the same day
NYC deal of the week
The most expensive deal to hit the city records this week was an apartment at Extell Development’s 50 West 66th Street, which closed for about $47 million, or $6,700 per square foot. Unit 47E in the Upper West Side tower sold to an anonymous LLC known as Darcy5066.
Beth Benalloul and Hilary Landis of Corcoran are leading sales at the 127-unit building.
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How Queens Ascended the Resident Throne
Penthouse at Skyline Tower Sets Price Record in Queens
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