How Will Amazon HQ2 Impact Residential Real Estate?

Amazon made a huge announcement today that they are seeking a city for their “HQ2”, a second headquarters, that would accommodate up to 50,000 employees.

Many clients reached out today wondering how this impacts their real estate plans. In the short and near term, which I’d define as zero to five years out, I don’t think this will have an impact on Seattle’s residential real estate market. As reported in the Seattle Times today, Amazon has 9,000 open head count here in Seattle and is still planning on adding 4 million square feet of office space, more than any other private employer in the area has. So many people will be moving to Seattle, a city, where we are at historic lows for the numbers of homes for sale.

Longterm, so more than five years out, it is now less likely that we’ll have comparably priced real estate to San Francisco or New York. But five years out is an awfully far ways out to be making real estate predictions. Most experts can’t predict beyond a year at best.

For buyers, the market is still extremely competitive, and that won’t change with this announcement. What could possibly change is that once you get a place, long term, it will appreciate slower than if Amazon added those 50,000 employees to Seattle.

For sellers, it is, and will continue to be for at least the next year, and possibly many more years, a great time to sell.

Investors, still plenty of opportunities in Seattle, but pay attention to the city Amazon picks and start adding to your portfolio there.