Compared to the rest of New York City, the Queens real estate market navigated the COVID-19 crisis in the calmest manner, according to a new report.
While sales activity dropped in the first half of 2020, the median sales price, which has seen continual growth in Queens, continued to increase at a rate higher than any borough in the city, according to a new report from Property Shark.
The median sales price in Queens hit a high mark in April, when it reached $630,000, a jump of 19 percent when compared to the year prior, the report said. The borough saw the increase in price despite a 22 percent decrease in sales activity.
However, despite the growth in median sales price, Queens experienced the first drop in the metric in July 2020, according to the report. Last month, the median sales price dropped by 10 percent, when compared to July 2019. At the same time though, sales activity began to increase in July, the report said.
With 855 sales transactions, July marked the Queens real estate market’s most active month since the pandemic began. Overall, Queens has seen 5,992 sales in the first half of 2020, which amounts to 23 percent fewer transactions than were recorded in the first half of 2019.
According to Property Shark, the drop in the median sales price is nothing to worry about. At $576,500, the median sales price is more in line with early 2020 pricing trends as opposed to the elevated prices recorded in the second quarter of 2020.
Elsewhere in the city, Manhattan’s real estate market was hit hardest in the first half of 2020, according to the report. Sales activity was down by 30 percent year-over-year and the median sales price dropped by 13 percent, Property Shark said.
In the Bronx, sales activity decreased by 24 percent when compared to the first half of 2019. While Brooklyn also saw a 24 percent drop in sales activity, it didn’t experience an increase in July, as Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx did, according to the report.
To read the full report, click here.
