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AACREDITUNION.ORG | 15 tory and offi ce build outs. For instance, real estate – both commercial and consumer – typi- cally sees an immediate uptick when a new cor- porate location or building is announced. Some areas undergo gentrifi cation, as real estate prices and rents rise in the city and outlying regions. This becomes more pronounced as new hires enter the region and look for homes that are within commuting distance of the new company location, explains one expert. "Amazon's decision on where it will locate its second U.S. headquarters has the power to transform the local housing market. The city that gets selected will immediately see a boost to jobs and wages, pushing home values up and triggering new construction in neighbor- hoods within commuting distance from the headquarters location," explains Javier Vivas, director of economic research for Realtor.com. "The impact is likely to be more material for smaller markets and those equipped to handle the growth." And then there are the ancillary expenses that everyone has that boost a city's economy. "The secondary effect is very signifi cant," says Jeff Will the Bubble Burst? Last year's real estate market hit highs not seen since 2006. Meanwhile, foreclosures are at their lowest levels since 2005, according to an ATTOM Data Solutions report, and interest rates are still low, too. But with the Federal Reserve expected to raise rates at least twice — and possibly four or more times in 2018 — some may wonder if the real estate market is ready for a correction. Most experts are cautiously optimistic that the market will be stable this year, citing Wall Street surges and a strong housing market where there simply isn't enough supply to meet current demand. "If you look at the market, it might slow a little in terms of pricing, but the demand is going to remain high," says Kevin Klowden, executive director at the Milken Institute's Cen- ter for Regional Economics. Nela Richardson, chief economist of Redfi n, a national real estate brokerage, agrees it's way too early to call a cool down on housing. That's not to say that the market isn't changing. Richardson says we could see people looking to move out of especially hot areas such as Atlanta, New York City, Los Angeles and Boston. "Many places have become unaff ordable so people are considering second-tier locations," she says. — K.J.B. Holzmann, managing director at Iintoo, a real estate investing management company. "In Amazon's case, those 50,000 people will need to buy and lease cars, upkeep their homes, eat, entertain themselves. That affects existing local businesses in a positive way." Finally, there's the public relations aspect of being the home of a large employer, says Red- fi n's Richardson. "You get the magnetic effect of having a big employer in the area. Like attracts like, and a deal like this will put money into any state's coffers."