A new study from a rental search firm says that demand for rentals in Raleigh would soar the highest among any of the finalists for Amazon’s HQ2.

The news from HotPads, which is owned by real estate firm Zillow, comes as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos promises a decision about which metro will land the project will be disclosed sometime before 2018 ends.

“The answer is very simple,” Bezos told the Economic Club in Washington, D.C. on Thursday night when asked about HQ2.

“We will announce a decision before the end of the year. So, we’ve made tremendous progress … and we will get there.”

But, reports tech news site Cnet, Bezos offered no hints about which metro will win the $5 billion project and the 50,000 jobs to go along with it.

Amazon has promised all along to name a winner sometime this year.



Should Raleigh be selected, renters will face the possibility of higher rents unless developers build an additional 2,520 additional units – or 23 percent – a year to keep prices “steady.” Currently developers build nearly 11,000 units a year to accommodate current growth, HotPads says.

After Raleigh, demand would hit rental markets hardest in Columbus, Ohio and Nashville while the New York market would see the smallest change in demand, the study says.

As other reports have indicated, Raleigh “is one of the more affordable rental markets still in the running” with a media price of $1,470 and costs increasing some 3.4 percent a year, HotPads notes.

More HQ2 coverage:

“An influx of new residents will inevitably influence the rental market, particularly in smaller markets like Raleigh and Columbus,” said Joshua Clark, economist at HotPads, in a statement.

“Both Raleigh and Columbus have seen remarkable growth in recent years, but if selected, they’ll have to undergo the most dramatic building boom to accommodate Amazon HQ2 and keep rent inflation at current levels. However, finding available land has been a recurring issue for both Amazon and housing developers in Seattle – so areas with more buildable space like Raleigh and Columbus may have an advantage when it comes to building for Amazon’s future.”

Report more about the report line at HotPads analysis.

Note: This story has been corrected, saying demand for rentals would increase but not that prices would soar.

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