Long Island City becoming more and more appealing for both residential and commercial renters.
Previously, Midtown and Midtown South of Manhattan were thought of as the hot real estate neighborhoods in New York City. The locations were central, and gave both renters and office leaser’s exceptional access to the city. However, according to an article recently completed by The Wall Street Journal, an increase in rent prices has forced residential and commercial renters to look other places. Prices for office property in Manhattan are at or near highs, most often due directly to a variety of foreign investors looking for places to put their money. These investors have offered a supply, indicating to real estate agents in Manhattan that the prices can be raised and the investors will still remain, more than willing to pass over their money. However, this has made it very difficult for small business owners or residential renters to maintain their Manhattan locales.
As a result, many have moved out of the area, either to further downtown in Manhattan or even to the other boroughs, including Long Island City. Long Island City has become particularly popular, mostly due to its proximity to Midtown and subway access. Over the course of the last decade, many real estate agents in Long Island City have worked to draw in more renters, working to add office space. Therefore, there is the space for workers to move in. However, the focus in creating office and industrial buildings hasn’t allowed much development for residential locales; now real estate companies are working to rectify this, with various plans for more apartment buildings already underway. This will boost Long Island City’s appeal even more, allowing workers to both live and fulfill their occupation within the city.
As if this increase in construction wasn’t enough to persuade some renters to make the final plunge towards permanently calling Long Island City home, there is also the issue of more affordable rent. Currently, the average rent for Manhattan for the third quarter was at sixty four dollars and ninety one cents per square foot. Alternatively, for the same amount of space in Long Island City, a renter would pay approximately thirty to thirty five dollars.