$100 Billion Micron Semiconductor Plant Breaks Ground in Clay NY

[Kiernan LaFaver]

After years of promise, the $100 Billion Micron Fab Plant officially broke ground this past Friday (1/16) in Clay NY, just 15 minutes North of Syracuse. This marks the largest private investment in New York’s history, and is expected to bring upwards of 50,000 jobs either directly through Micron or indirectly through local economy drivers (hospitality, hospitals, educational centers). Construction is expected to happen over the next 15 years as Micron intends to build a total of 4 fabs.

How does this relate to Real Estate Investing? MFH and apartment-style complexes are expected to begin construction in expectance of the population influx over the coming years. Both SFH and MFH spaces, both city and suburbs, have been appreciating at an astonishing 8-12% YoY even before Micron broke ground. The true "Micron Boom" has not happened yet. The Greater Syracuse area is already in a bit of a housing shortage. Now that construction has began, I expect this imbalance of supply and demand to only become greater, further increasing property values and forcing appreciation. This undoubtedly will creep into the investment space as well. The city and suburbs as a whole are still relatively affordable. Both SFH and MFH range anywhere in the 100-350K range, with the higher end representing more "ready to go" properties for investors. Given local zoning regulations (NIMBYs) and builder constraints, builders likely will not be able to keep up with the population increase, also forcing property values and appreciation upward. Given the amount of short term contract work (HVAC, electricians, construction workers), the local rental economy will likely experience upward pressure as demand increases. This is quickly positioning itself to become potentially the largest investment opportunity in the area's recent history.