To most, Astoria is not known for luxury living. The traditionally middle class neighborhood has remained somewhat low key, even during a period of time that has seen other traditionally working class neighborhoods like the Lower East Side, Williamsburg and Long Island City become popular locations for luxury rental apartments. While these neighborhoods continue to grow in popularity, as well as cost, there’s one lively, diverse neighborhood in New York City that has all the potential in the world, not to mention luxury apartments, that no one seems to be talking about—Astoria.

What do developers do when their condominiums remain vacant? They turn them into luxury rentals, of course. At least, that’s what developers across the country decided to do during the recession. When the recession hit, foreclosure was one of the most feared words, leading to a hike in the number of people choosing to rent, which triggered higher monthly rents.

Now, the Wall Street Journal reports, landlords are moving in the other direction, converting their rentals into condos, indicating recovery in the sales market. Tenants are even going out of their way to ask landlords if they can buy their apartments.

The latest report is in, and according to Elliman, the median manhattan rental price finally decreased for the first time since June 2011. The median rent for an apartment in Manhattan slipped 3.1% from the same month last year, down to $3,095 per month in September. The numbers weren’t straight across the board, however. In year-over-year numbers, there was a slight price decline in studio and one-bedroom apartments, while there was an increase in price for two- and three-bedroom apartments.

^{Rendering by SHoP Architects} 

On First Avenue between 35th and 36th Streets, sat 9.2 acres of undeveloped, muddy land for several years. The owner of the former ConEd site, developer Sheldon Solow, had planned on building two apartment towers. Last year, he sold the property for $172 million to JDS Development, who is following through with Solow’s plans. The Midtown East mud pit is in the process of transforming into two SHoP Architects-designed luxury rental towers, one at 40 stories and the other at 49 stories, housing a combined 800 luxury apartments for rent.