Newark's chances at landing Amazon's second headquarters is looking more like a long shot.

Amazon officials are reportedly in "advanced discussions" about establishing its second business hub in Northern Virginia, according to a Washington Post article on Saturday.

Cities across the continent have contended for the new headquarters, dubbed HQ2, offering huge tax breaks in exchange for the retail giant's estimated 50,000 jobs and a $5 billion investment.

But on Saturday it appeared as if Crystal City, Virginia, had emerged as the front-running city for the online behemoth.

The Post reported that officials from the northern Virginia city and the surrounding county have discussed how quickly employees could move there, what office real estate was available and how to publicly announce the decision. JGB Smith, the city's top real estate developer has even pulled some of its buildings off the market and earmarked them for Amazon, according to the article.

There has been no official word from Amazon, though, and the company could also be discussing similar details with other cities.

The news would likely come as a huge disappointment to cities that have been wooing the company since it announced its HQ2 competition in fall 2017.

Newark offered a $2 billion incentive in August, but even paired with Jersey's $5 billion tax break, it likely wasn't enough to lure Amazon to the Brick City. Online gambling sites indicated in September that Newark was towards the bottom of the 20-city candidate list.

Newark officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cassidy Grom may be reached at cgrom@njadvancemedia.com Follow her at @cassidygrom. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips