Homes for sale in College Point

College Point is a neighbourhood in northern Queens, New York, on a peninsula between Flushing Bay and the East River. Its own residents describe it as a small town inside the big city: streets of one-, two- and three-family houses, a commercial boulevard with neighbourhood shops, waterfront parks with views of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and the Manhattan skyline, and an industrial zone that still employs a lot of people. It had 33,625 residents in the 2020 census, almost a fifth more than in 2010.

For buyers, College Point offers what is rare within city limits: houses with yards, gated waterfront condominiums and two- and three-family buildings where you can live on one floor and rent out the others, at prices below those of the neighbourhoods served by the subway. The trade-off is known to everyone who lives there: there is no subway, a car is almost essential, and LaGuardia Airport is just across the bay. This page explains the neighbourhood, what is for sale and at what price, and the specific precautions of buying here.

Where it is and how to get there

College Point covers the 11356 ZIP code. To the north is the East River, to the west Flushing Bay, to the east 138th Street and the neighbourhoods of Malba and Whitestone, and to the south the Whitestone Expressway and downtown Flushing. College Point Boulevard crosses the neighbourhood from north to south and connects it to Flushing in a few minutes.

Transport is the factor that weighs most in the decision. No subway line has ever been built out here — there was a plan for a branch line in the early twentieth century that never went ahead. The neighbourhood is served by local buses (Q20, Q25, Q26, Q50 and Q76) that go to Flushing, where the 7 subway line and the Long Island Rail Road are, and by express buses to Manhattan (QM2, QM20 and QM32). By car, the Whitestone Expressway is on the doorstep, the Cross Island Parkway and the Bronx-Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges are close, and LaGuardia is a few minutes away. For those who work in Manhattan every day, the commute is longer than from the Queens neighbourhoods with a subway; for those who work in Queens, on Long Island or in the Bronx, the location is good.

A little history

The name comes from St. Paul's College, an Episcopal school founded in the 1830s by the Reverend William Augustus Muhlenberg on a 175-acre property. The Panic of 1837 prevented him from obtaining a charter to grant degrees, and the college closed around 1850 — but the name stuck. Before that, the peninsula had other names, such as Strattonsport.

The man who made the neighbourhood was Conrad Poppenhusen, a German-born industrialist who in 1854 set up a hard rubber goods factory here. College Point became a factory town, and Poppenhusen funded churches, libraries and, in 1868, the Poppenhusen Institute on 14th Road, which housed the first free kindergarten in the United States. The building still stands and is today a cultural centre for the neighbourhood. Poppenhusen Avenue keeps the founder's name.

In the twentieth century the neighbourhood had an airport — Flushing Airport, opened in 1927 and decommissioned in 1984 — and the land around it became a large corporate park. In 1997 The New York Times opened its printing plant here, and in 2014 the New York City Police Department opened its training academy in College Point, on a 32-acre campus. This mix — family houses, waterfront and industry — still defines the neighbourhood today.

The neighbourhood, area by area

The old centre

Around College Point Boulevard and the numbered streets between 5th Avenue and 20th Avenue lies the old core: wood-frame and brick houses, many with two or three units, built for working families in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and small buildings with shops on the ground floor. This is where most of the houses and multifamily buildings for sale are found. The streets are quiet, with on-street parking and backyards.

The waterfront and the condominiums

Along the shore, especially to the north and around Powell's Cove, several condominium developments were built from the 1980s onwards, many of them gated and with security: Riviera Court, Silverpointe Estates, Powell Cove Estates and others. They are townhouses and apartments on two or three levels, with a garage or a parking space, some with a pool, gym and tennis courts. The best have direct views of the East River, the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and the Manhattan skyline in the distance.

On the western shore, facing Flushing Bay and LaGuardia, there are more recent condominium buildings, with one- and two-bedroom apartments, balconies and, in some cases, indoor parking. They are the neighbourhood's entry product for those who want to buy a new apartment.

The industrial and commercial south

Between 20th Avenue and the Whitestone Expressway lies the industrial and services zone: the corporate park, warehouses, workshops, the police academy and a big-box shopping centre. It is not a residential area, but this is where the larger warehouses and commercial buildings for sale are found — and it is the source of part of the neighbourhood's truck traffic.

The parks

MacNeil Park, on the northern tip, has 29 acres on the East River, with views of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, the Bronx and Manhattan. Powell's Cove Park is a natural waterfront wetland area, and Frank Golden Memorial Park and the College Point Fields serve the neighbourhood's sports. For a New York neighbourhood, the share of green space and waterfront is generous.

What is for sale and at what price

Our selection in College Point runs from US$ 38 thousand to US$ 3.6 million, but the two ends are very different products, and it is worth separating them.

Condominium apartments. The new apartments on the western shore, of about 50 to 95 m², range from just under US$ 280 thousand to just over US$ 420 thousand; two-bedroom units in the same building reach US$ 535 thousand. In the gated waterfront developments, two- and three-bedroom condominium apartments and townhouses range from about US$ 550 thousand to close to US$ 1 million, depending on the view, the size and the parking.

Houses. Family houses, with two to five bedrooms, range from about US$ 549 thousand to close to US$ 1.69 million. The cheapest are small and old; those at the top have more space, a larger lot or several units.

Multifamily buildings. Buildings with two to six units range from US$ 850 thousand to about US$ 2 million; the cheapest per unit are, as a rule, those that need work. There are also three-family buildings under construction, sold pre-construction, between US$ 1.89 million and US$ 2.35 million.

Commercial. The lowest figures in the selection are not properties: they are running businesses — a shop, a wellness space, a laundromat, a deli — from US$ 38 thousand to about US$ 370 thousand, sold with their fittings and the lease on the space. Commercial buildings and warehouses, which do include the property, range from about US$ 1 million to US$ 3.6 million.

A word of caution when reading listings: not everything that appears as an "apartment" is housing. There are condominium units with a certificate of occupancy for community-facility or professional use, which cannot legally be used as a home. The certificate of occupancy says what each thing is.

Investment analysis

Appreciation

College Point's population grew by almost 20% in a decade, and demand comes mainly from families who want a home with space near Flushing, the great commercial centre of northern Queens. The lack of a subway keeps prices below those of neighbouring areas with better transport — and it is also what limits appreciation. Condominiums with water views and well-kept houses on quiet streets are the ones that appreciate most.

Rental income

The two- or three-family building is the neighbourhood's classic investment: the owner lives on one floor and rents out the others, or rents out everything. Rental demand is firm, because of Flushing and the housing shortage in Queens. But in New York tenants have strong protections, and a building sold with tenants is a building with tenants: the leases, rents and terms pass to the buyer. In condominiums, renting is usually allowed, but each association has its own rules and, sometimes, its own fees for rented units.

Exit

Houses and waterfront condominiums sell well. Multifamily buildings have a smaller and more demanding pool of investor buyers, who do the rent maths. Commercial businesses depend on the lease that comes with the sale. Anyone buying here should think medium or long term.

Points to consider

Flooding and the waterfront

College Point is a peninsula, and a significant share of its properties is in a flood-risk zone. The water view is what you pay for, but it is also what you insure. Before buying, check the city's and FEMA's flood zone maps for that address, ask whether the property took water in Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and get a flood insurance quote — in a risk zone, and with a mortgage, it is mandatory, and the annual cost can weigh as much as the property tax.

Aircraft noise

LaGuardia is across the bay, and the approach and departure routes pass over parts of the neighbourhood. The south-western side, closest to the airport, is the most exposed. Exposure varies a great deal from street to street and with the runway in use: visit the home on more than one day and at different times, and ask the neighbours.

No subway

Anyone who depends on public transport to get to Manhattan every day will lose time on the bus to Flushing or on the express bus. A property with a garage or a parking space is worth more than it seems, and on-street parking in the old centre is not always easy.

The industrial neighbours

The industrial zone provides jobs, but brings trucks and noise to the streets that connect it to the expressway. Houses on the edges of the industrial zone, or on truck routes, cost less for a reason. Check the zoning of the surrounding blocks before making an offer.

Buildings with tenants

In a multifamily building, ask for the rent roll, the leases, the security deposits and information on whether any unit is rent-regulated — in New York, buildings with six or more units built before 1974 are, as a rule, covered, and the rent on those units cannot rise freely. Confirm the legal number of units on the certificate of occupancy — basements and attics rented without a permit are a common problem in Queens, and the buyer inherits it.

Pre-construction

Buildings sold pre-construction depend on permits, timelines and the soundness of the builder. Ask for the Department of Buildings permit, the schedule and the guarantees on the money paid, and confirm that the final certificate of occupancy matches the promised number of units.

Buying a business is not buying a property

With a running business, what you buy is the fittings, the customers and the position in the lease. Read the lease with a lawyer: how much time is left, whether there is a renewal option, whether the landlord accepts the transfer and how much the rent will rise.

Listings that change quickly

Well-priced houses and condominiums with a view leave the market quickly. Always confirm the current status of a listing before planning a visit.

Legal and tax checklist, in the US

Before making an offer on a condominium: the by-laws and the rules on renting; the monthly common charges and what they include; the association's accounts, minutes and planned works; any special assessments; whether parking is included or separate.

Before making an offer on a house or a building: the certificate of occupancy and legal number of units; open violations at the Department of Buildings; the flood zone and the cost of insurance; the property tax bill; the rent roll and leases, if there are tenants; the lead-based paint disclosure for houses built before 1978; a full inspection of the property.

At purchase: in New York, the purchase is handled by attorneys for both parties, with title insurance. There are city and state transfer taxes and, on residential properties from one million dollars, the "mansion tax", paid by the buyer.

While owning: city property tax, insurance — including flood insurance, if applicable —, condominium charges and maintenance. Rental income is declared in the United States, even by non-residents.

On sale: capital gains tax and, when the seller is foreign, FIRPTA withholding on the sale price, settled later in the tax return.

Who it suits — and who it does not

It suits those who want a house with a yard or a waterfront condominium within New York City, and who have a car. It suits those who work in Queens, on Long Island or in the Bronx, and families with ties to Flushing. And it suits those who want to buy a two- or three-family building to live on one floor and pay the mortgage with the others.

It suits less those who will commute to Manhattan every day without a car, those who are sensitive to aircraft noise, and those who want to invest from a distance without managing tenants in a city where the law protects them.

Final thoughts

College Point offers space, water and quiet at a price that neighbourhoods with a subway no longer offer. The price has its reasons — transport, aircraft, flood risk in part of the neighbourhood — and those who know them buy well. Those who choose the street, confirm the flood zone and read the certificate of occupancy before making an offer avoid the surprises that are most expensive here.

The path is simple to state: know whether the property is a condominium, a house, a building or a business; check the flood zone and the insurance; and visit at different times, with the planes and the traffic included.

When you contact us through a property page, we forward your enquiry to whoever has the complete information about that specific property — the certificate of occupancy, the charges, the leases and the current status of the listing. The entire inventory is available in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and Hebrew.