Online search activity from other tech hubs—such as Silicon Valley and Seattle—for houses near Crystal City spiked 743 percent a week before Amazon confirmed that half of HQ2 would come to Northern Virginia, according to a report released by Trulia on Tuesday. Despite the heightened interest in the area, and the fact that real-estate agents are now using HQ2 as a selling point in their listings, Trulia reported no noticeable price or rent changes for homes as of yet.
The rise in searches started November 3, the day the Washington Post dropped the bomb that Amazon was in “advanced talks” with Crystal City, and remained high until Amazon’s official announcement on November 13. Search activity has since returned to a more normal level, says Trulia.
In addition to Silicon Valley and Seattle, searchers in tech destinations such as Boston, Denver, Austin, New York, and Raleigh also added to the spike. And it wasn’t just Crystal City drawing interest–the nearby neighborhoods of Aurora Highlands, Arlington Ridge, and the Potomac Yard-Potomac Greens area experienced 3.7 times more search activity than usual.
While Trulia says HQ2 does not appear to have impacted home prices yet, it’s not for lack of trying by agents. Trulia found that, as of December 8, there were almost 100 property listings around Washington that touted the new headquarters—some for houses as far away from the HQ2 site as Chevy Chase and Northeast DC’s Riggs Park.
