'Amazon Effect' Makes Alexandria Most Competitive For Real Estate

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Real estate brokerage Redfin says Alexandria and Arlington are the top competitive real estate markets in the U.S., citing the Amazon effect.

Cities were ranked based on their Redfin Complete Score, which shows how difficult it is to buy a home in the market. This involves data on the amount of competing offers and waived contingencies, how fast homes go under contract and how much they go above the listing price.

Alexandria and Arlington each received a score of 96. Last November, Amazon announced its second headquarters will be located in Arlington's Crystal City area, just north of Alexandria.

"The Amazon HQ2 effect has become a permanent factor in the Arlington and Alexandria housing markets," said Marcia Burgos-Stone, a local Redfin agent, in a statement. "Some sellers are still opting to hold on to their homes and wait until it becomes a more concrete reality in the hopes that they’ll get more money."

Year-over-year data shows fewer homes appearing on the market in Alexandria and Arlington. The properties on the market in Alexandria fell by 50.5 percent year-over-year in July. That's tied to 35.7 percent of homes being sold over the listing price in Alexandria, a 12.1 percentage point increase.

Redfin concluded that the future Amazon headquarters is causing these homes to go under contract quicker on average than the DC region and the nation. According to Redfin data, 57 percent of Alexandria homes are under contract within two weeks compared to 39.6 percent for the entire DC region.

Homes are on the market for a median of 14 days in Alexandria, a year-over-year decrease of six days. For the entire DC region, homes are listed for a median of 27 days.

The most competitive real estate cities as identified by Redfin are:

1. Alexandria, VA
2. Arlington, VA
3. Grand Rapids, MI
4. Tacoma, WA
5. Oakland, CA
6. Beaverton, OR
7. Lakewood, CO
8. St. Paul, MN
9. Woodbridge, VA
10. Littleton, CO

See the full analysis on Alexandria and Arlington's competitive markets.