SANTA CLARA, Calif.,
Nov. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/
-- One year after Amazon selected Arlington, Va., as the site of its new HQ2,
the impact on the housing market has been pronounced. Massive
inventory shortages, sky-high price spikes and a blistering pace of
sales are now the norm in the metro surrounding Amazon's second
headquarters, propelling it to one of the nation's hottest housing
markets, according to research by
realtor.com®.
In contrast, New York City,
which was initially chosen as one of the two markets for Amazon's
headquarters, is now sitting at a 15 percent decline in home sales,
year-over-year. At the time of the announcement, Manhattan saw a massive leap in home sales of
50 percent. Sales in Manhattan
maintained strong double-digit growth until February, when Amazon
decided to pull out of New York.
At that point, sales growth immediately decelerated and then
started declining. The median sale price in Manhattan currently sits at $1.04 million, down 15 percent
year-over-year.
"The 'Amazon effect' has branched out of its home base of
Seattle and it has clearly stamped
its fingerprint on the Northern
Virginia housing market. The impact of the company's
expansion in the suburbs of Washington,
D.C. diverges along homeownership lines, with homeowners
experiencing noticeable equity gains and buyers feeling the sting
of higher prices," according to George
Ratiu, senior economist at realtor.com®.
"Following Amazon's initial announcement that it was scouting
cities for a second headquarters, we knew the winner would see a
considerable jump in demand for housing, especially from investors
and speculators looking to cash in on increased demand. Looking
back a year after the announcement, we can see how dramatic the
move has been in the market."
Immediately following last year's announcement, home sales in
Arlington jumped 21 percent
year-over-year as investors swarmed in on the area. Initially, the
area saw a substantial 17 percent increase in median listing price,
but it has only gone up from there. The median listing price in
Arlington County reached
$863,000 in October 2019, up 33 percent year-over-year.
In part, the massive price appreciation is due to the lack of
inventory and swelling demand for housing in the area. As of
October 2019, active listings in
Arlington County were down 49
percent year-over-year. Without inventory available to meet current
demand, buyers are extending their home search farther out. In
Northern Virginia, which is made
up of 14 counties, active listings are down 26 percent
year-over-year.
The lack of available homes has all but assured that any home
hitting the market is bought almost instantly. Half of all homes in
Arlington are selling in under 28
days -- nine days faster than a year ago and 38 days faster than
the national median days on market. The market conditions which
have catapulted Northern Virginia
into one of the nation's most competitive housing markets can be
traced back to two story lines, according to Ratiu.
"First, the nationwide competition drew so much attention, it
caused a massive shortage of homes as investors descended on the
area, buying homes as quickly as they could. Second, homeowners and
investors have been holding out on selling, anticipating that
prices will only continue to increase further, which has compounded
the area's inventory shortage, and further increased home prices,
testing the area's limits for what buyers are willing to pay," he
said.
About realtor.com®
Realtor.com®, The Home of Home
Search℠, offers the most MLS-listed for-sale listings among
national real estate portals, and access to information, tools and
professional expertise that help people move confidently through
every step of their home journey. Through its Opcity platform,
realtor.com® uses data science and machine learning to connect
consumers with a real estate professional based on their specific
buying and selling needs. Realtor.com® pioneered the world of
digital real estate 20 years ago, and today is a trusted resource
for home buyers, sellers and dreamers by making all things home
simple, efficient and enjoyable. Realtor.com® is operated by News
Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc.
under a perpetual license from the National Association of
REALTORS®. For more information, visit realtor.com®.
Media Contact: Cody Horvat -
cody.horvat@move.com
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-study-finds-amazon-delivers-high-home-prices-300957289.html
SOURCE realtor.com