It only took Amazon's announcement to break the already-vibrant Long Island neighborhood into a frenzy.
Amazon has been looking for places wherein to put their Amazon HQs. With a little luck and a lot of lobbying, they managed to overcome any and all opposition to their plans. Long Island locals have been petitioning against their HQ locations, CNBC revealed, but quite the opposite is happening in the property market, which has shown signs of falling into a frenzy for Queens waterfront property in the aftermath of Amazon's announcement.
Recently, Long Island has been experiencing a remake of sorts. Startups have bought up real estate prices in Queens, but the prices here still pale in comparison to those of glitzier Brooklyn and Manhattan. It has become a popular destination for young up-and-comers, or people who have yet to taste a year's worth of accumulated paychecks. This has helped prop-up property prices in the neighborhood.
Now, Amazon's impending arrival is expected to drive up the prices even further. To illustrate this, consider the case of a three-bedroom condo overlooking the Manhattan skyline. It has a price of $1.7 million, a heavy price to pay for most. But that didn't seem to faze the people who suddenly are in line to bid on the apartment with the glitzy price, as Amazon is preparing their HQ plans. Investors have seen the effect and are riding the wave, NBC New York reported. While searches for a prime piece of what would soon become Amazon's neighborhood is soaring, some owners have seen the value of pulling their properties off the market. These owners have adopted a "wait-and-see" approach where they prefer to see the prices to climb up first before listing their properties online.
Most of the buyers of these homes have been hesitant earlier in the year. While startups have employees who need homes and are ready to pay for it, they could not compare to Amazon's employees. The HQ is expected to generate 25,000 new jobs which would pay its employees an average of $150,000.
While the news has bought joy to others, there are those who would argue that the LIC would do just fine without it. These Long Island residents are of the impression that the Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon did nothing to add to what was an already flourishing reputation connected with the neighborhood.
