National Association of REALTORS® Examines Data Center Impact on U.S. Real Estate Markets
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has released a report titled '2026 Data Center Impact,' which investigates the effects of the growing number of data centers on local real estate markets across the United States. The report, which does not take an official policy stance, analyzes county-level data on home values, employment, and electricity costs, alongside survey feedback from real estate agents. NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, stated that there is no singular 'data center effect,' and the impact varies significantly by local market. The analysis found that 92% of over 3,200 U.S. counties tracked have no mapped data centers, with only 1% having 10 or more. Data center growth is concentrated in limited areas, including Northern Virginia (21% of national data centers), Silicon Valley (5%), central Ohio (5%), the Phoenix area (4%), and central Washington (4%). These areas tend to be higher-cost housing markets with strong long-term housing appreciation and job growth, though the report clarif...