WASHINGTON — The first housing numbers are out, and they indicate developers are already buying into the Amazon Effect.
According to January statistics released by Long and Foster, available homes in Arlington County and Alexandria City are down by 38 percent and 48 percent respectfully, from a year ago.
In December, home sales had skyrocketed by 30 percent in Arlington County and 28 percent in Alexandria.
The statistics only look at one month but indicates developers are already buying up property ahead of Amazon’s move to Crystal City, Va.
"We speculate that these spikes were most likely due to the Amazon effect," said Boomer Foster, President of Long and Foster.
Home prices in Arlington are also up 10 percent from last year.
So, what does that mean for you? If you already own a home, it's good news. Hang on to that house because your property value has already increased. If you're a first-time home buyer or renter, you could be priced out.
RELATED: Amazon’s HQ2 is officially coming. What’s it going to do to your rent? Your home value?
Back in early February, WUSA9’s Delia Gonçalves spoke to Suyapa Gomez. The mother of three is a low wage worker and lives in Arlandria, also known as Chirilagua.
The community is made up of Central Americans and named after a town in El Salvador. It is one of the last under-developed neighborhoods within a mile of HQ2’s future home in Crystal City.
Gomez was afraid that rising rents will force her out of her community. She and others are organizing with Tenants and Workers United to keep housing affordable. State leaders said they are investing $225 million for new affordable housing, but advocates aren't buying into their plan.
“We haven't seen bold leadership,” said Ingris Moran with Tenant and Workers United. “We just keep hearing it's not going to be as bad as it sounds."
Realtors agree it shouldn’t be that bad, at least not right away.
“We're not expecting a repeat of Seattle, where Amazon contributed to a nearly 50 percent rise in prices. In our area, it will be gradual and occur over the course of 10+ years," said Foster.
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