To Grow Or Not to Grow. That is Amazon’s Question.
After the Head Tax …
After the City Council passed the head tax on Seattle’s big businesses, Amazon issued a strong statement questioning its growth and future in Seattle. “A major shift in Amazon’s thinking could send thousands of jobs to other cities eager for the kind of growth the company brought to Seattle, and cause the company to put even more focus on its planned second headquarters” states GeekWire. If Amazon does decide to focus on growth in other cities, experts say we may find a “ripple effect” in the real estate market and “damage” on Seattle’s status of being the tech capital of the world.
Yes we may see damage as a result, but we may also see relief in pressure on smaller tech companies who are looking for more office space and quality employees, and for those who are having trouble finding affordable housing. In addition, many top Seattle tech companies such as Microsoft, Zillow, Facebook, Apple, Google, etc. will have better opportunity to find top talent for their companies.
Amazon’s Stake in Seattle
According to GeekWire, “Amazon is the top tech company dating back to 2007 when it announced plans for an 11-building, 1.7 million square foot campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood.” Amazon has strongly influenced the real estate and construction markets giving Seattle the title as the “nation’s crane capital” and has contributed thousands of new jobs to the Pacific Northwest region.
Bringing in more jobs than any other company, developers have been trying to keep up with Amazon’s demand by building thousands of apartments per year. If Amazon slows its growth here in Seattle, we will find a slowdown in the need for apartments. According to Matthew Gardner, Windermere’s Chief Economist, we will not see much change in the for-sale housing market regardless the direction Amazon decides to choose.
To read the full article from GeekWire, click here.