As Democrats in Virginia choose who they want to lead their party, one of the issues on many voters’ minds is the cost of housing.
Over the weekend, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), laid out his vision for America in front of a crowd of thousands of people in Northern Virginia. Every few words, the crowd interrupted him with cheers.
“18 million American families should not be spending 50% of their income on housing,” said Sanders.
The crowd responded with a roar.
Last month a voter in Virginia asked then-candidate Pete Buttigieg what he would do to address housing discrimination and “ensure access to safe, decent housing for low income and other vulnerable populations.”
At an event for former Mayor Mike Bloomberg in McLean, Va., on Saturday, Rowesaye -- an undecided voter who didn’t want to give her last name -- told Yahoo Finance rising housing costs are “getting worse by the day.”
“I’ve been living in this area for the last ten years and there’s no way that I would even afford to buy anything,” said Rowesaye, who said she lives in Annandale, Va.
Julie Riley, a Bloomberg supporter, said her top priority is bringing down the cost of healthcare, but connected the issue back to housing.
“I live in Fairfax County. It’s one of the most expensive counties, I think, in the country for housing and everything else. When you look at how people are spending their money, so much of it’s going to healthcare,” said Riley. “I think that [lowering healthcare costs] would make a huge difference to people locally.”
The Amazon effect
It’s no secret Northern Virginia, across the river from Washington, D.C., is an expensive area to live. But real estate agents say prices have skyrocketed since Amazon announced it would move its HQ2 to Arlington, Va.
“First-time homebuyers particularly are frustrated because they're having difficulty finding properties that they can afford,” said Derrick Swaak, president-elect of Northern Virginia Realtors. “Sometimes they're just putting off the buy decision for further down the road until they have more money in their pocket to really buy their dream home.”
According to research updated exclusively for Yahoo Finance, the median list price in Arlington County reached $1,080,000 in January 2020 -- up 29% year-over-year. Since October 2018, a month before the announcement, the median list price in Arlington has increased by $431,000. While Amazon is not the sole cause of the price increase (low mortgage rates were also a factor), Realtor.com said in Northern Virginia, each mile closer to HQ2 raises home sale prices by $11,618.
“In October, just before the big announcement, listing prices in Arlington were actually declining by 1.3% compared to the previous year; immediately following the announcement, listing price growth jumped to double-digits,” according to Realtor.com.
Swaak told Yahoo Finance fewer homes are on the market, and homes are selling faster now.
“As soon as Amazon made their announcement we saw that, first of all, a bunch of investors jumped in -- and that really cut down on the inventory,” said Swaak.
Renters are feeling the squeeze too.
“Sellers said ‘Well I’m not going to sell my house. I’m just either going to stay in it for a few more years or rent it out, rather than sell it. Because I can make much more money in my house over the next few years rather than in the stock market or any other investment’,” said Swaak. “For renters, it’s a much more aggressive market,” said Swaak.
Roshan Abraham, an organizer with Our Revolution Arlington, protested Amazon’s move to Arlington, in part because of fears it would make housing unaffordable.
“Gentrification is already happening in Arlington and Northern Virginia, that was already in place before HQ2. What HQ2 is doing is super charging it,” said Abraham.
Abraham believes companies like Amazon get too many incentives and tax breaks. He told Yahoo Finance he thinks Sanders is the best candidate to change that.
“That money that’s being lost in tax revenue is money that could go into things like Medicare for All, like free public college. And those are things that will help the 99%,” said Abraham.
Amazon is slated to eventually bring in 25,000 jobs to HQ2. The company told Yahoo Finance its headcount stands at 715, with 127 pending starts. More than 500 jobs are currently open.
The tech giant has also pledged millions of dollars to addressing housing affordability and improving transportation in the region.
The candidates’ plans
The remaining Democratic candidates each have specific plans to make housing more affordable.
Sanders is billing his plan as “Housing for All,” and it includes investing $2.5 trillion dollars to build 10 million units of affordable housing.
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s plan would invest $640 billion over 10 years. According to his website, some of his ideas include ending redlining and fighting housing discrimination, creating a new tax credit for first time homebuyers and expanding the low-income housing tax credit.
Over 10 years, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wants to invest $500 billion in housing units for low- families. She also plans to end redlining and create a new down-payment assistance program for first-time homebuyers who have lived in redlined neighborhoods or communities that were segregated by law.
Bloomberg’s plan calls for guaranteed rental assistance for low-income Americans, hundreds of thousands of new affordable housing units and targeted down-payment assistance.
Jessica Smith is a reporter for Yahoo Finance based in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter at @JessicaASmith8.
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