If Toronto is the city selected as the home to Amazon’s second North American headquarters (HQ2), landlords may be disappointed.
That’s because the city is one of the least likely to see a large increase in rents from an estimated 50,000 new workers moving to the city according to an analysis from Zillow.
The real estate platform estimates that rents in a year from now will be 1.4% higher than there are now, an average $1,031. The impact of HQ2 will be just $16 per month, a 0.2 percentage point rise.
The city which would benefit the most from the Amazon effect is Nashville.
If Amazon starts hiring in 2019, monthly median rent in Nashville would jump from $1,511 to $1,547 -- which is an extra $431 per year paid in rent – or 2.4 percentage points higher than the 1% rise estimated without HQ2.
“Many of the finalist cities have a relatively strong record of adding new rental supply in response to new demand, helping curb rapid rent growth – though rents could escalate more quickly in communities with a smaller employment base and/or those unable or unwilling to add meaningful new housing supply,” said Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas.
“Growth often brings growing pains, and in the past it has been lower-income households that bore the brunt of rising housing costs in the face of rapid expansion. Whichever community is chosen, it's critical that local leaders begin working now to prepare their cities as best they can," he added.
Metro Name |
Boost to Annual |
YoY Rent |
Current |
Median Rent in 2019 if |
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN |
2.4% |
0.9% |
$ 1,497 |
$ 1,547 |
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
2.3% |
3.6% |
$ 2,047 |
$ 2,168 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
1.9% |
3.0% |
$ 2,746 |
$ 2,880 |
Pittsburgh, PA |
1.9% |
-1.0% |
$ 1,063 |
$ 1,072 |
Raleigh, NC |
1.9% |
2.4% |
$ 1,436 |
$ 1,497 |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
1.7% |
2.5% |
$ 1,862 |
$ 1,940 |
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH |
1.4% |
3.6% |
$ 2,371 |
$ 2,490 |
Columbus, OH |
1.3% |
1.1% |
$ 1,317 |
$ 1,349 |
Austin-Round Rock, TX |
0.8% |
0.7% |
$ 1,686 |
$ 1,710 |
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
0.8% |
2.3% |
$ 1,606 |
$ 1,656 |
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
0.8% |
-1.0% |
$ 2,401 |
$ 2,396 |
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
0.6% |
0.5% |
$ 2,146 |
$ 2,170 |
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
0.4% |
3.2% |
$ 1,394 |
$ 1,445 |
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
0.4% |
0.4% |
$ 1,579 |
$ 1,592 |
Greater Toronto, ON |
0.2% |
1.4% |
$1,031 (CAN$1,333)v |
$1,047 (CAN$1,354) |
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
0.1% |
-0.2% |
$ 1,653 |
$ 1,651 |
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN |
0.0% |
-0.2% |
$ 1,208 |
$ 1,206 |