Amazon HQ2: DC Gets Surprising Ranking

WASHINGTON, DC — The D.C. area may be topping a lot of lists when it comes to landing the coveted 2nd headquarters of online retail giant Amazon, but the region does not rank high in one surprising category: real estate. A new report from ATTOM Data Solutions, a firm that analyzes housing market numbers, released a list ranking the 20 finalists for Amazon's 2nd HQ in terms of their real estate.

The firm gave Raleigh the No. 1 overall spot among finalists, beating out Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Nashville. That means that although the D.C. area has three spots on the list, they all finished well out of the top five. D.C., specifically, was ranked 12th -- just ahead of Northern Virginia.

Median home price and crime rate in particular appeared to knock D.C.'s score down a few pegs. The median home price in D.C. is $520,000, which trails just New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. The crime rate compared to the national average was 316, which was the worst among all finalists. Additionally, D.C.'s price-to-income ratio, a measurement of affordability, was 6.47 -- a score that places it in the lower half of hte list.

However, price appreciation was relatively low at 21 percent. And D.C. was tied for first in average school score.

The ATTOM study said the Amazon project could be a "game changer" for the winner's economy and housing market. It could bring as many as 50,000 jobs to the area, as well as a higher demand for more housing.

Amazon considered more than 200 proposals from various countries before announcing their 20 finalists in February. D.C., Northern Virginia, and Montgomery County, Md. all made the cut, with only Prince George's County getting the ax.

Click here to see how other cities ranked on the chart.

Additional reporting by Patch editor Daniel Hampton

Photo credit: David Ryder/Getty Images