The arrival of Amazon in Nashville could drive up home prices according to area experts.
Amazon's Tuesday announcement was met with much excitement from city leaders. The company promises to bring 5,000 jobs to the city with an average pay of $150,000.
"When you're increasing the employment opportunities that means you're also going to drive population," said Dr. Murat Arik, director of MTSU's Business and Economic Research Center.
Dr. Arik believes the introduction of a large company like Amazon will drive home prices up across the board, even if most employees will live in specific areas on Middle Tennessee.
"You're not just talking about 5,000 jobs. It's anywhere from 9-12,000 jobs. When you factor in, indirect and induced impact. You're going to see lots of other types of economic impact going on around Amazon," said Arik.
He said with such a high salary, many employees will opt to live in Williamson County, such as the Brentwood or Franklin areas.
"I do think that Amazon is a wonderful addition to our city and they will create the jobs, but of course they will also bring people with them, which means that there could be housing shortages in particular price points that reflect their personnel," said Sher Power, president of the Greater Nashville Realtors.
Powers said it's likely employees for Amazon will buy houses in the $350,000 to $600,000 price range.
Currently, Powers said the housing market is cooling off, but there's still demand.
"There's more inventory coming on. So, that's escalating. Buyers have calmed and pricing has calmed. You're not seeing huge leaps every month in purchase price," she said.
