HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
AMAZON AND THE BATTLE FOR TOMORROW’S COMMUNITIES
“Sure,” they continued, “we have a competitive toolkit of incentives, but blindly giving away the farm isn’t our style.” Who Has Leverage? Politicians, community leaders, and economic development offices all know that the future of every town and county is directly tied to jobs, preferably non-polluting jobs with solid wages and strong benefits. Seattle has done well with its relationship to Amazon, and the company is not shy about the benefits it’s created. In its HQ2 request for proposals (RFP) Amazon “estimates its investments in Seattle from 2010 through 2016 resulted in an additional $38 billion to the city’s economy — every dollar invested by Amazon in Seattle generated an additional $1.4 for the city’s economy overall.”
DC area, $50,800 in Houston, and $55,150 nationwide.
Amazon says the company “ranks #1 on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, #2 on Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, #1 on The Harris Poll’s Corporate Reputation survey, and #2 on LinkedIn’s U.S. most desirable companies list. Amazon was also included in the Military Times’ Best for Vets list of companies committed to providing opportunities for military veterans.” While the presence of Amazon has boosted Seattle, it has not created a gilded and gated community. According to the National Association of Realtors, you need a qualifying income of almost $253,000 to buy a typical home in the San Jose area. The figure is roughly $129,200 in Los Angeles, $165,000 in Honolulu, $90,800 in Denver, $73,800 in Miami, $88,700 in the Washington,
And in Seattle? The typical qualifying income is $104,000. High — but nowhere near other leading tech centers. Alternatively, for communities that lose their job base the result can be stagnation and contraction, stalled home values, and reduced tax collections. Detroit was the fourth- largest city in America in 1950 but with the decline of the auto industry the city filed for bankruptcy in 2013. Detroit today ranks 18th by population. “There are two Americas,” AOL founder Steve Case told The New York Times. “One with an abundance of capital and opportunity -- in Silicon Valley and
HOME PRICE WINNER: CUPERTINO, CA
MEDIAN HOME SALES PRICE
ANNUAL HOME PRICE APPRECIATION
$2,500,000
40%
30%
$2,000,000
20%
$1,500,000
10%
0%
$1,000,000
-10%
$500,000
-20%
$0
-30%
Q1 2000
Q1 2002
Q1 2004
Q1 2006
Q1 2008
Q1 2010
Q1 2012
Q1 2014
Q1 2016
6
DECEMBER 2017 | ATTOM DATA SOLUTIONS
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter