Home Sales in Queens Take a Dip in 2011, But Prices Keep Up

Courtesy of propertyshark.com

The number of homes sold in Queens decreased slightly in 2011 with 9,128 properties changing hands, according to Property Shark’s latest analysis. The year-to-year decrease is 11 percent; yet compared to 2006 (when the number of transactions reached a 7-year peak), the decrease is 39 percent.

At $305,000, the yearly median sale price has stayed flat for a third consecutive year. The median sale price in Q4 2011 was $300,000, a 5 percent decrease over Q3 2011 and a 6 percent decrease over Q4 2010. The zip code with the highest median sale price in 2011 was 11109 ($694,000), comprising three neighborhoods: Hunters Point, Sunnyside, and West Maspeth. Here are some interesting properties that exchanged hands:

131 Beach 139th Street
The most expensive residential property sold in Queens in 2011 was the single-family home at 131 Beach 139th Street. The beautiful oceanfront residence first hit the market on May 2, 2010, with an asking price of $5,379,000. More than a year and several price chops later, it finally sold for $3,200,000 on Sept. 27. The current seller had previously put down $3,400,000 for it on Sept. 7, 2006.

5 Center Drive
The second biggest transaction in Queens in 2011 was the single-family home at 5 Center Drive, Whitestone. The custom-built, brick colonial house first hit the market on July 24, 2010, with an asking price of $3,250,000. It sold on April 29, 2011, for $2,625,000.

The most expensive condo sold was the #PH9 penthouse at 46-30 Center Boulevard. Located in Long Island City’s building “The View” (which was covered by Curbed on many different occasions), the penthouse sold for $1,660,000 on Nov. 22, 2011.

Finally, here’s the complete top 10 of the biggest Queens real estate residential transactions in 2011:

Address Sale                            Price                      Sale Date
131 Beach 139th Street           $3,200,000            09/27
5 Center Drive                          $2,625,000            04/29
134 75th Road                         $2,600,000            07/12
181 Beach 145th Street           $2,600,000            10/04
46-10 Dongan Avenue             $2,570,000            02/11
6 Center Drive                          $2,350,000            10/28
5 Russell Place                         $2,300,000            02/01
252-19 Thornhill Avenue          $2,300,000            08/29
12 Greenway North                  $2,275,000            05/11
19 Markwood Place                 $2,275,000            10/11

Catalin Trif is a writer for PropertyShark.com. Property Shark is a property search site with market data for New York City and New York state.