After setting a torrid pace in the second half of 2015, the Queens housing market eased a bit in the first quarter of 2016. The number of sales slipped 1.9% lower to 2,517 from the same period last year. Despite the decline, the total number of contracts surged 17.4% to 3,527 over the same period. The number of contracts signed within the first quarter showed the same pattern, rising 22.9%% to 2,201 from last year…