Data center boom is putting more homes near facilities

The growing share of U.S. home sales occurring near large data centers is being driven primarily by where the facilities are being built, rather than by changing homebuyer behavior, according to a new Realtor.com analysis. The share of home sales within five miles of a data center with at least 50 megawatts of capacity has more than doubled since 2018 — rising from 0.67% to about 1.5% in 2026. Meanwhile, the number of large data centers nationwide has increased more than sevenfold, from 49 to 347. Based on facilities in the construction pipeline through 2027, Realtor.com projects that about 2.3% of U.S. home sales could occur within five miles of a large data center. “The data center buildout has moved fast, and it is raising policy, community, and housing-market questions as it spreads and accelerates,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “Our analysis so far offers some reassurance: in the communities we studied, a new data center opening nearby wasn’t associated with meaningfully higher or lower home values than similar neighborhoods that didn’t get one. “But the facilities coming online next are bigger, more remote and landing in communities with less experience...