Amazon's HQ2 Causes Housing Boom

 Since the announcement of Amazon’s HQ2, all eyes have been on Arlington, Virginia.  In areas near the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington and Alexandria, the housing market has been competitive.  According to Redfin, who ranks markets across the nation, Alexandria and Arlington homes have seen multiple offers.  This is due to a tight inventory.  While the area isn’t seeing the dramatic increase Seattle saw, homebuyers and sellers are preparing for it.

Based on the history of homes available for sale, Arlington and Alexandria are seeing less homes available this year versus last year – about half.  As mentioned, sellers are opting to hold onto their homes for longer, anticipating the fervor Seattle saw a couple years ago.  With tight inventory, homes that are listed go quick with median days on market being two weeks or less.  One year ago, median days were 21 days.  The median days on market for the Washington DC area is 27 days. 

Arlington, of course being the home city of HQ2, is seeing nearly half of the homes sell for more than list price.  Average price in Arlington is $616,000, much higher than the rest of the greater Washington DC metro area of $421,500. 

It’s not just Arlington and Alexandria that are seeing an increase, outlining areas are also seeing a boost.  Analysts in the area are projecting a year over year increase of about 17%.  Just like what we’re seeing in outlining areas of Seattle, and even Tacoma, Northern Virginia is anticipating an influx of new residents and homebuyers. 

Amazon’s HQ2 will be about 6 million square feet of office space and house about 25,000 employees.  In response, Virginia Tech will build a new innovation campus.  This addition will be about one million square feet and help gear Virginians for the new headquarters.