Malba, a tiny waterfront pocket of Queens that most New Yorkers have never heard of, has suddenly crashed the rankings of New York City’s priciest neighborhoods. Its median sale price jumped 61% year over year to $2.5 million in Q1 2026, a surge powered by just a handful of big-ticket single-family closings and a reminder of how a few high-end deals can swing a low-volume market.
According to PropertyShark's Q1 2026 "Top 50 Most Expensive NYC Neighborhoods" report, Malba's $2.5 million median set a new borough record and placed the neighborhood at No. 5 citywide. The report also notes that Malba hit that peak on just five recorded sales, the minimum threshold PropertyShark uses to calculate neighborhood medians, so the ranking reflects a very small sample of transactions.
Big sales tipped the scales
Among the high-end deals that lifted Malba's median were 104 Malba Drive, which closed for $3.12 million on March 24, 2026, and 95 Malba Drive, which sold for about $2.82 million earlier in the quarter. Both StreetEasy records highlight larger footprints and amenities, including pools and expansive lots, that set these homes apart from typical Queens stock.
Why the spike doesn't mean a boroughwide boom
PropertyShark also notes that Malba is home to roughly 850 residents and consists overwhelmingly of single-family, detached houses, so medians can swing sharply when unusually large homes trade. The firm’s data show the average size of Malba homes sold in Q1 was 3,096 square feet, more than double the neighborhood's year-ago average. That shift in size helped push the median upward without signaling widespread price gains across Queens. Market watchers make a similar point in local coverage of the rankings, noting that headline medians built on small deal counts can be misleading; see put the rest of NYC on notice for context.
Still, the ranking underlines that buyers hunting space and waterfront lots are willing to pay a premium. Douglas Elliman agent Susanne Gutermuth told the New York Post that limited supply and Malba’s lack of condo or rental buildings have helped push prices higher.
