NAR: Data centers’ housing impact anything but uniform

Data centers are proliferating across U.S. housing markets — driven by surging demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure A new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) finds that their impact on local real estate markets defies simple generalizations. The report, “2026 Data Center Impact,” analyzed more than 3,200 counties and surveyed Realtor members to assess how the facilities are affecting housing, employment and real estate activity. It found that counties with data centers generally have higher home values and stronger long-term job growth — but also emphasized that correlation does not equal causation. “What I think is the most important thing is not to make assumptions,” said Nadia Evangelou, principal economist and director of real estate research for NAR and lead author of the report. “Our research does not support saying that a data center will automatically lower or raise nearby home values.” Researchers identified 1,474 data centers across 251 U.S. counties, with 92% of all counties having no mapped facilities. Loudoun County, Virginia, leads the nation with 213 facilities — followed by Santa Clara County, California, with...