Home prices roar in Arlington, whimper in Manhattan post-Amazon

Manhattan home prices have sputtered along after Amazon scuttled plans for part of its HQ2 in Long Island City, while the Arlington, Virginia market is getting a big boost form the tech effect.

Pricing in Manhattan grew just 2.4 percent between the time Amazon made its announcement in November of last year and April, according to realtor.com figures cited by Bloomberg.

In Arlington, however, home prices have grown 17.3 percent during the same time.

“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’ve witnessed so far in both the mid-market and luxury sector has been dramatic,” realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale told Bloomberg.

The rise in Arlington pricing was accompanied by a larger drop in home inventory than Manhattan saw, the news outlet reported. Realtor.com’s report showed that active listings in Arlington dwindled to fewer than 400 listings in April — a 50 percent decrease from a year earlier.

And the Arlington luxury market has also prospered, with a 22.1 percent price increase since last April at the top of the market. The top five percent of homes commanded an average price of $2.4 million.

An analysis of more than 1,000 counties shows that Arlington County and two neighboring counties are among the seven tightest markets nationwide.

Amazon had plans to build a second headquarters at two sites in NYC and Crystal City, an urban Arlington neighborhood. The NYC plans fell through after backlash from community groups and emboldened politicians. [Bloomberg] — Georgia Kromrei