Amazon's second HQ boosts Virginia home sales

New York

HOME sales in both Manhattan and Arlington, Virginia jumped when Amazon shortlisted the two US cities for its second headquarters, but the Manhattan market has since cooled after Amazon dropped the city from the list, according to a report from realtor.com.

Listing prices in Arlington increased 17.3 per cent from the time of Amazon's November 2018 announcement through April this year.

Prices in Manhattan grew 2.4 per cent for the same time period.

Arlington has also seen a larger drop in home inventory than Manhattan suggesting there is not enough supply to keep up with the demand.

"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 have witnessed so far in both the mid-market and luxury sector has been dramatic," said Danielle Hale, the chief economist at realtor.com.

Arlington's luxury real estate has fared even better than the mid-market sector, according to the report.

In April, the average for the top five per cent of home prices reached US$2.4 million. That's a 22.1 per cent increase over the same period last year.

Even with the robust price increases, Arlington's inventory is tight.

According to realtor.com, the number of active listings in Arlington was down almost 50 per cent in April from a year earlier, to less than 400 listings. BLOOMBERG