Unless you’re actually trying to buy a house or a condo in Arlington County, Virginia, you probably don’t truly realize how competitive the market has become.
The median price of what’s selling in Arlington County is 17.7% higher than it was a year ago, and homes in Arlington County now sell in an average of six days.
If you’ve guessed some of what is driving the Arlington housing market higher is the arrival of Amazon’s HQ2, you’d be right. And it’s not just investors looking to become a landlord or make a quick buck in a flip down the road. Amazon is impacting house hunters that just want to live in Arlington County.
“Each time I encounter this it kind of surprises me, but I would say close to 100% of the time I’m touring with a client, at some point in our conversation they bring up the fact of Amazon is kind of driving their decision to look now before things get even crazier,” Redfin agent Mara Gemond told WTOP.
“The Arlington market is smoking hot. I can’t remember the last time I had a client make an offer that didn’t face competition.”
Amazon’s arrival has lit an otherwise quiet corner of Arlington County specifically on fire.
“The Amazon effect has really impacted the Crystal City and Pentagon City area specifically just because that is kind of ground zero for HQ2. Those areas, if you’re looking at Arlington, in the past had certainly been less hot than the Ballston, Clarendon, Courthouse areas,” Gemond said.
The Washington metro area’s broad housing market, which includes the District, Northern Virginia and the Maryland suburbs was the third fastest major market in the country in April, with the typical home under contract in 10 days.