Long Island City has seen its population grow by a staggering 40 percent between 2010 and 2020 — five times faster than the city’s average. You could sort of see it happening in real time, at least in theory, as one high-rise after another went up in the waterfront neighborhood on the western edge of Queens. The neighborhood is home to more new construction than anywhere else in the country, but that hasn’t helped tame rents much: According to a 2023 report from Queens real-estate firm Modern Spaces, Long Island City saw a 22 percent increase in rent over the last year. The median one-bedroom now runs for $4,000; to buy, the median price is $940,000.
Which is maybe why the market has attracted a certain kind of tenant. Patrick Smith, a broker at Corcoran who has lived in Queens for the last two decades, says that the clients he’s seeing want the amenities that come with the new high-rises: pools, conference rooms, concierges, and even access to a printer. (You’ve got to print those RealReal return slips somewhere.) “The buildings become a city within a city,” Smith said. Nicole Beauchamp, a broker at Sothebys, says that most of her clients — both buyers and renters — are moving from Manhattan. Some have Long Island City at the top of their list, while others are “dragged kicking and screaming” until they realize that getting to 59th Street on the 7 takes all of seven minutes and one stop. (The extension to Hudson Yards is also a potential draw for commuters.)
For others, the true appeal isn’t Manhattan but easy access to the rest of Queens and, at least in some cases Beauchamp has seen, its grocery stores. “I had one client who was like, ‘I can take the 7 train to Flushing,’” she said. “They were so excited about the idea of how much time they would be able to spend at home cooking.” MoMA PS1 and a forthcoming outpost of Chelsea Piers are other reasons people might be content to stick around the neighborhood.
But escaping Manhattan apparently doesn’t mean escaping bidding wars. “It’s kind of insane to me how quickly a new building gets rented,” says Jonna Stark with Brown Harris Stevens. She advises people looking in the neighborhood to act quickly if they like a place and have flexibility in their move-in dates. (Good advice in general.) Smith says he’s seen concessions in the slow winter months for some buildings, but often sees multiple renters going after the same listing if it offers river views and plush amenities. Which, we guess, explains the bidding wars.
