Data centers have become a focal point of American life. Love them or hate them, they\u2019re being built, and fast. But how do these centers impact local housing markets?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A September report from the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae<\/a> found no identifiable \u201cdata-center effect<\/a>\u201d in markets with a large data center presence. However, Zoocasa recently dove deeper into the data for America\u2019s top five most saturated markets and found a concerning trend.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bottom line?<\/strong> In the last six years, counties with more data centers tended to see lower home price growth or decreased sales compared to counties with fewer or no data centers. Here\u2019s how each area compares. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlthough data centers have been around for a long time, people have gotten more weary of them in recent years, and the data reflects that. It\u2019s not always obvious how that impact is felt, though,\u201d Zoocasa Industry Relations Officer Brittany Kostov said. \u201cFor areas like Virginia, the effects show up in both prices and sales, but California has mainly seen slower sales growth. Sometimes an area with data centers is still seeing higher prices and sales, it\u2019s just not growing quite as fast as its peers. The impact is so individualized, but our research shows that data centers do tend to have an effect on the housing market.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Virginia has by far the highest concentration of data centers in the nation at 319 facilities, more than double the next-highest state of Texas at 127. Loudoun County, VA<\/a>, has the most data centers of any county, with a concentration of 213<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Data centers aren\u2019t spread equally across the county, however, with most concentrated in four ZIP codes. When comparing ZIP codes with data centers to those with few or none, the contrast is stark: prices in ZIP codes without data centers grew on average about twice as fast over the past six years. <\/p>\n\n\nPrice Growth Cut in Half for Loudoun County in Virginia <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Price Impact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n