YOU’VE undoubtedly heard that condos in LIC are selling like hot cakes and Open Houses are jammed post-Amazon. There’s probably some hyperbole in there – that’s the news business (and real estate brokers) – and it’s important to remember any mention of tripling and quadrupling is off a very low base. Yet for all the obvious reasons purchasing property in Long Island City has become the topic du jour month in NYC and worldwide.
Which is why I was attracted to a building in Astoria, which is located almost as far away from Long Island City as one can be in that adjacent neighborhood. The listing that caught my attention is a 2,800 square foot penthouse with 3br/3ba and an 800 foot terrace offered for $2.15 million. The condo building, Shore Towers, is not only a distance from LIC, but also almost a mile from the second-to-last subway stop on the N/W line. Similarly, all the wonderful retail and restaurants of Astoria are also a hike from its front door and I don’t think there’s even a bodega nearby. Though the building was constructed in 1989, the apartment has been fully renovated, and the tower’s amenities include an indoor pool and private tennis court. Plus that isolation also puts it on the doorstep of Astoria Park. Better yet, here’s the kicker: the taxes are $541 and the common charges are $787 for a combined $1,328 a month – for 2,800 square feet plus a terrace!
Compare that to a listing for a 3br/3ba in a newly constructed building on 44th Drive in LIC that has 1,712 sq ft, a 220 sq ft terrace and a price tag of $2.285 million. Most importantly, the building doesn’t seem to have a tax abatement, so we can make an apples to apples comparison on monthly charges, which for the new unit will be $1,725 in taxes and $1,855 in common charges for a combined $3,580 a month! (Thanks for the heads-up in The Court Square Blog)
Crazy? That’s a lot to pay for location, location, location (not to mention a new-build premium). You can make the comparison between apartments yourself, but one does have to wonder once again what it means for all the current (and future) condo buildings whose tax abatements will start rolling off in the next decade, maybe they’ll be saved by Amazon? In the meantime, there’s definitely an arbitrage1 there for those looking to venture afar in Queens, and my guess is it extends beyond penthouses.
//THIS is the weekend off between Thanksgiving gorging and the Holiday Season partying (and feasting). Sweat it all out in one day at the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens 3×3 Basketball tournament. It’s this Sunday from 11am – 3pm and teams are still needed. Registration and more info here.
2540 Shore Blvd PH23E – yeah, Astoria has a Shore Blvd, and check out the other PH for sale in this building
21-30 44th Drive – for comparisons sake, and it’s on 44th Drive
Queens Priciest Pad Is Now Cheaper Despite Amazon News – not really, it was lowered a month prior to AMZN announcement after sitting on the market for almost two years
New York’s Wealthiest Cut Losses as Manhattan Real Estate Falters – the new reality?
A Walk Around Anable Basin – another great photo essay from the eternally-nostalgic intrepid explorer Nathan Kensinger
- LIC Math: Astoria unit costs $768 a square foot and the LIC unit is $1,335 a square foot, almost a 75% premium. In addition, the Astoria unit’s monthly cost is 47 cents a square foot, and that of the LIC unit is $2.09 a sq ft. For anyone looking, one question to ask about the Astoria building is what the history of assessments has been [↩]
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