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After Amazon HQ2: N.Y., D.C. Offer Dramatically Different Tale of Two Housing Markets
Participation in the Amazon HQ2 sweepstakes has resulted in dramatically different outcomes for the Arlington, VA and Manhattan, NY housing markets, according to analysis by realtor.com. Although the initial announcement instantly fueled the housing markets in both cities, Amazon’s later decision to pull out of Queens, NY, has cooled the Manhattan market, while Arlington continues to remain hot.
Immediately following the November announcement, home sales in both cities jumped 50% year-over-year, but their similarities ended there. To date, Arlington has seen six-figure (17%) median list price growth of $110,000 and a more than 40% drop in inventory. Conversely, Manhattan has had a comparatively meager price increase of less than 3% growth of $40,000, and a 3% decrease in inventory.
News of the Arlington headquarters at National Landing (pictured) prompted a flurry of activity in the area closest to the new HQ site, but the Queens headquarters spurred growth across the bridge in Manhattan, likely due to anticipated high salaries from Amazon.
Danielle Hale, realtor.com’s chief economist says, “With a household name as big as Amazon moving into Arlington’s backyard, we expected that home prices were going to increase. But, because the number of homes for sale is not keeping up with demand, the price growth we’ve witnessed so far in both the mid-market and luxury sector has been dramatic. Meanwhile, Manhattan’s housing market, which boomed in November following the announcement, has cooled off after Amazon decided to pull out of the city.”
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Kaiser
