Skyline: David Sucsy/iStock; text: crossroadscreative/iStock
Reno, NV, gets a lousy rap. A down-and-out casino town, with higher-than-average unemployment and high crime that has somehow remained immune to the wealth that flocks to nearby Lake Tahoe. Its slogan, “The Biggest Little City in the World” seems ironic at best.
Maybe that’s all about to change. Tech giants from Tesla to Apple have announced plans to open offices in Reno. The city of around 233,000 is “expecting a flood of tech-sector workers over the next couple of years,” according to MainStreet.com. Some analysts believe there may be an additional 50,000 Reno residents by 2020.
Guess what comes with the high-paying jobs in tech hot spots? Pricier real estate (Silicon Valley, anyone?). “Reno’s home prices are already soaring with the prospect of new employers entering the area. The area’s median home sales price rose by 16% since last year,” it continued.
The prices, which average about $300,000, have doubled since January 2010, when the recession gutted the real estate market. More proof of tech companies’ influence on real estate? Thirty miles away in Fernley, NV, Amazon opened a hub and home prices rose 23%.
Will the whole character of Reno change, too? Will it turn into the bland, millennial-laden lands of other tech hubs?
It’s hard to imagine Reno rapidly transforming into a kingdom of bearded hipsters sipping $4 pour-over coffees, but already we’ve seen a few walking the dusty streets (plus the ironic Reno Hipsters Twitter feed). There are wine bars, chocolate boutiques, and a bring-your-own-meat barbecue bar.
Greg Chow
We’ve seen rapid transitions to hipsterdom happen plenty of times before. If Reno wants to avoid the fate of some cities such as San Francisco and Seattle, which have become rapidly unaffordable for many residents or newcomers and have been accused of losing their soul, the answer, as always, is inventory.
The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada told MainStreet that at least 9,000 new homes are needed to accommodate the massive tech worker influx. Hopefully some developers will win big at the casinos and start building.
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