With the announcement that Amazon may be splitting its HQ2 expansion across two locations, purportedly Queens in New York City and Crystal City in Arlington, Va., Zillow has updated its April 2018 projections of the new headquarters’ potential impact on these metro markets.
The latest news that Amazon may be splitting its HQ2 across two locations dilutes its impact on the selected markets. Some finalist cities had concerns about the impact that HQ2 would have on housing affordability, a top concern across most of the country, but the smaller scale of the new headquarters likewise would shrink its effects on affordability. It will be an easier undertaking to meet a smaller influx of housing demand, and separating its HQ2 locations also gives Amazon the chance to create a broader national footprint.
Based on Zillow’s April estimates on the impact of the entire HQ2 project, the arrival of an estimated 50,000 new Amazon employees would add a projected 0.6 percentage point boost to rents in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. Rents in New York City, calculated as a whole, would rise a projected 0.8 percentage points.
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