are prices not softening in parts of queens (bayside/flushing)?
Started by STFU
over 16 years ago
Posts: 52
Member since: Dec 2008
Discussion about
i know there's been plenty of discussion about LIC, as well as a bit about sunnyside, but i wanted to ask about other neighborhoods. i'm particularly curious about bayside and flushing. my mom and dad sold their house in bayside about a year ago. i'll spare you the details, but after being "out of town" for a year, they are back now and are looking to either buy or rent. from the past two weeks of... [more]
i know there's been plenty of discussion about LIC, as well as a bit about sunnyside, but i wanted to ask about other neighborhoods. i'm particularly curious about bayside and flushing.
my mom and dad sold their house in bayside about a year ago. i'll spare you the details, but after being "out of town" for a year, they are back now and are looking to either buy or rent. from the past two weeks of looking, they tell me that prices have not really softened at all. there is certainly no automatic 20% off list price as in manhattan. and in fact, it almost seems as though there is NO wiggle room. for instance, for rentals, there are ZERO incentives (ie, you still pay broker fees, and there are no months free, and the brokers apparently confidently say sorry to any other suggestion of negotiating). even for purchases, there seems to be negotiating at only the 5% level. it's all quite strange to me since all i've been attuned to is manhattan stuff. i suppose one potential explanation for this is that bayside/flushing was not affected as much by the bubble, and therefore, have less to fall. i do not even know if this is true or not; just guessing here.
can someone comment on whether my folks are just getting duped? or is it true that prices just haven't softened much? is this something having to do with a more asian population in these areas. (please spare me any lecturing: this is not a racist thing. this is a question re: demographics and the empirical fact that a larger proportion of the asians in the RE market seem to own businesses or are all-cash buyers, etc, relative to their non-asian peers.)
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Response by jmkeenan
over 16 years ago
Posts: 178
Member since: Jan 2009
I'm seeing the same thing in Brooklyn with rentals ant buying opportunities. Partly, the softening happened in the outer boroughs 2 yrs back like it did in the rest of the country (i suspect manhattan was propped up by the foreign buyers looking to invest their euros). Also, I don't think the boroughs got the memo about rentals in Manhattan dropping -- we've had a few threads on brooklyn properties being the same cost (right now) as equivilant UWS apts.
I am starting to see some distress on Brownstoner from landlords who are having a harder time renting. but there just aren't the inventory pressures (yet) to get people to change. I suspect when large numbers of people start trading up, leaving the 1500/mo astoria, LIC, billyburg apartments vacant, then we will see some more movement.
Can your parents wait until fall to commit? I think a lot of people (wrongly) expect a buys summer.
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Response by generalogoun
over 16 years ago
Posts: 329
Member since: Jan 2009
Prices are down a bit in Bayside, but not as much as in other parts of the city. Nothing moved much in the fall and winter, but for the past few weeks here in north Bayside, I've seen several houses go into contract and more come on the market. Last week, one of my neighbors sold his tiny Treasure Land house for about $500K. Ten years ago, you couldn't get more than $100K for those houses. Also, this is District 26 and everyone moves here for the schools. So it's spring, there are definitely houses for sale and rent, but no great bargains.
We've had a lot of new construction (yes, mostly developers from Hong Kong) but the final Bayside/North Flushing rezoning plan is about to go into effect and that will end the McMonstrosity disaster in much of northeastern Queens. Our reality here is that the Asian developers tear down the old houses and replace them with what are essentially illegal mini apartment buildings. They don't rent to anyone but Asians, so it's harder for people of other ethnicities to rent apartments in large areas of Bayside and Flushing these days.
If your parents need a RE agent, I can highly recommend Toula Sbirakis at Value Lane. She is honest, knows the area very well and never plays games. I've also heard many good things about the Carollo agency but have no personal experience with them. Avoid the toxic Judy Markowitz and Lou Cardenas.
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Response by STFU
over 16 years ago
Posts: 52
Member since: Dec 2008
my folks bought back in the late 80s for $265, and sold last year for $800. i haven't ran the numbers, but my guess is that they did a bit better than inflation. but i digress...
they are now downsizing and are considering 3 options. #1: 1BR or 2BR rentals. #2: buying a 1BR coop. #3: buying a 2-3 family house. ideally, they'd like to be in the area at/near alley pond park. (i don't know the exact neighborhood name). but have also been looking in the whitestone/college point area near the water there. i know, i know, they're just all over the place.
what i've been telling them is: regardless of whether the queens market is down or not, there is certainly no compelling reason to buy now -- the only direction anything is likely to move is down (or flat). so why not rent for a year and just see how the dust settles? ... which i think most would agree with?
but then, when you get the rental decision, it's still in my nature to want to get a good deal, and it's just shocking that the deals aren't there.
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Response by notadmin
over 16 years ago
Posts: 3835
Member since: Jul 2008
heard there are many rent stab available on that area (a friend of mine just got into one), w/o broker's fees. i'd try to get them into one of those. they will have much less incentive to catch a falling knife by buying early if their rent is the lowest possible (as that rental will be a good deal that cannot be thought of as "through money away on rent"...).
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Response by generalogoun
over 16 years ago
Posts: 329
Member since: Jan 2009
-- ideally, they'd like to be in the area at/near alley pond park. (i don't know the exact neighborhood name). but have also been looking in the whitestone/college point area near the water there. i know, i know, they're just all over the place. --
The area around Alley Pond could be Bayside or Douglaston. There are some nice apartment buildings on Douglaston Pkwy, north of Northern, just before you get into Doug Manor. There's also a new waterside development in Whitestone/College Point that looks very nice from the outside. There are often apartments for rent in Bay Terrace.
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Response by DH4u
over 16 years ago
Posts: 2
Member since: Apr 2009
STFU...If you have a particular property they are looking at I'd be willing to send you local comps so you can compare similar products. It's the only way to assess whether or not they are being duped. I am a real estate agent for disclosure purposes I hold no obligations whatsoever! I'm just here to help answer any questions.
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Response by STFU
over 16 years ago
Posts: 52
Member since: Dec 2008
that would be great. anonanon123@gmail.com
they're looking at 1BR coops,2BR coops, as well as -- in fact, i think generalogoun's nailed it -- this new waterside development in whitestone/college point, which seems to be developed by chinese developers.
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I'm seeing the same thing in Brooklyn with rentals ant buying opportunities. Partly, the softening happened in the outer boroughs 2 yrs back like it did in the rest of the country (i suspect manhattan was propped up by the foreign buyers looking to invest their euros). Also, I don't think the boroughs got the memo about rentals in Manhattan dropping -- we've had a few threads on brooklyn properties being the same cost (right now) as equivilant UWS apts.
I am starting to see some distress on Brownstoner from landlords who are having a harder time renting. but there just aren't the inventory pressures (yet) to get people to change. I suspect when large numbers of people start trading up, leaving the 1500/mo astoria, LIC, billyburg apartments vacant, then we will see some more movement.
Can your parents wait until fall to commit? I think a lot of people (wrongly) expect a buys summer.
Prices are down a bit in Bayside, but not as much as in other parts of the city. Nothing moved much in the fall and winter, but for the past few weeks here in north Bayside, I've seen several houses go into contract and more come on the market. Last week, one of my neighbors sold his tiny Treasure Land house for about $500K. Ten years ago, you couldn't get more than $100K for those houses. Also, this is District 26 and everyone moves here for the schools. So it's spring, there are definitely houses for sale and rent, but no great bargains.
We've had a lot of new construction (yes, mostly developers from Hong Kong) but the final Bayside/North Flushing rezoning plan is about to go into effect and that will end the McMonstrosity disaster in much of northeastern Queens. Our reality here is that the Asian developers tear down the old houses and replace them with what are essentially illegal mini apartment buildings. They don't rent to anyone but Asians, so it's harder for people of other ethnicities to rent apartments in large areas of Bayside and Flushing these days.
If your parents need a RE agent, I can highly recommend Toula Sbirakis at Value Lane. She is honest, knows the area very well and never plays games. I've also heard many good things about the Carollo agency but have no personal experience with them. Avoid the toxic Judy Markowitz and Lou Cardenas.
my folks bought back in the late 80s for $265, and sold last year for $800. i haven't ran the numbers, but my guess is that they did a bit better than inflation. but i digress...
they are now downsizing and are considering 3 options. #1: 1BR or 2BR rentals. #2: buying a 1BR coop. #3: buying a 2-3 family house. ideally, they'd like to be in the area at/near alley pond park. (i don't know the exact neighborhood name). but have also been looking in the whitestone/college point area near the water there. i know, i know, they're just all over the place.
what i've been telling them is: regardless of whether the queens market is down or not, there is certainly no compelling reason to buy now -- the only direction anything is likely to move is down (or flat). so why not rent for a year and just see how the dust settles? ... which i think most would agree with?
but then, when you get the rental decision, it's still in my nature to want to get a good deal, and it's just shocking that the deals aren't there.
heard there are many rent stab available on that area (a friend of mine just got into one), w/o broker's fees. i'd try to get them into one of those. they will have much less incentive to catch a falling knife by buying early if their rent is the lowest possible (as that rental will be a good deal that cannot be thought of as "through money away on rent"...).
-- ideally, they'd like to be in the area at/near alley pond park. (i don't know the exact neighborhood name). but have also been looking in the whitestone/college point area near the water there. i know, i know, they're just all over the place. --
The area around Alley Pond could be Bayside or Douglaston. There are some nice apartment buildings on Douglaston Pkwy, north of Northern, just before you get into Doug Manor. There's also a new waterside development in Whitestone/College Point that looks very nice from the outside. There are often apartments for rent in Bay Terrace.
STFU...If you have a particular property they are looking at I'd be willing to send you local comps so you can compare similar products. It's the only way to assess whether or not they are being duped. I am a real estate agent for disclosure purposes I hold no obligations whatsoever! I'm just here to help answer any questions.
that would be great. anonanon123@gmail.com
they're looking at 1BR coops,2BR coops, as well as -- in fact, i think generalogoun's nailed it -- this new waterside development in whitestone/college point, which seems to be developed by chinese developers.