Real estate execs give Austin the best odds of landing Amazon HQ

Everyone in the real estate business is scrambling to figure out where Amazon's new headquarters will land.

With the potential for 50,000 employees and $5 billion in investment it's the economic development prize of the decade. Show Full Story

CoStar Group, the real estate information and marketing firm, quizzed hundreds of real estate execs about where Amazon should put its new HQ2.

Austin and Dallas were at the top of their list, with Atlanta and Nashville right behind as favorites for the Amazon move.

"While more people picked Austin, many were willing to give Dallas the edge because of its superior air transportation system having two major airports, including an international airport," writes CoStar's Mark Heschmeyer. "Amazon currently has more than 20,000 employees in Texas."

Austin's odds for getting Amazon's HQ were as high as 3 to 1 according to CoStar's poll. Dallas was given 6:1 odds.

"Atlanta is home to the busiest international airport in the U.S. It also has a large high-tech employment base having emerged as a mecca for huge data and logistics centers," Heschmeyer said. "One downside some observers cited was that Georgia is currently home to only about 500 Amazon employees.

"Nashville with its best odds of 8:1 was favored for having a hip, strong cultural scene, large growth capability, affordable living and occupancy cost and a reputation as an up-and-coming metro area."

Amazon has more than 7,000 employees in Tennessee.

Denver was the fifth most picked city on CoStar's list.

Digital retailing giant Amazon announced early this month that it was hunting for a place to park thousands of new workers over the next decade.

Communities all over the country are competing for the headquarters deal.