(flickr.com/kimba)

Kelly Faircloth is a guest blogger for Betabeat.

Realtors tell NY1 that the boom of startups, the wave of IPOs, and the plans for a new tech campus are already coming together to begin affecting rent prices. And it’s not exactly going to make them cheaper. Says one Doug Perlson, CEO of RealDirect: "What we are seeing is that the business of business is now technology and more and more companies are hiring tech workers. These people need a place to live."

Hot neighborhoods include exactly what you’d expect: DUMBO, Williamsburg, Chelsea, and Flatiron—plus Long Island City, which could finally achieve liftoff thanks to its proximity to the future Roosevelt Island applied sciences campus. (And, to be fair, Gantry Plaza is a pretty nice amenity.) To appeal to this newly flush crowd, landlords are busting out what they consider tech amenities: “iPod and iPad stations, free Wi-Fi and high-tech smart appliances.”

“Rent increase” is, of course, a term that strikes fear into a New Yorker’s heart. But before you panic and lock in a two-year lease, it’s worth remembering that a) hopefully an uptick in tech will lift everyone’s proverbial boat and b) attempting to rush the customer is a sales trick that predates the birth of Jesus.