Homebuilders Accuse Data Centers of Snapping Up Prime Land at ‘Impossible Prices’

Data center developers could be vexing the housing market by outbidding homebuilders, at least in one fast-growing area.In a research piece published on its website, the National Association of Home Builders looked at a few examples of data center developers outbidding other prospective users of the land. Specifically, it looked at several instances of data center developers in the "data center alley" of Northern Virginia, where NAHB says data center developers are paying "impossible prices" for land.In one case, a data center developer offered Ashburn, VA, homeowners $4.4 million per acre so it could assemble a larger site. Meanwhile, median land prices came to about $125,000 in the rest of Loudoun County."As AI use has grown, so has demand for the facilities that make it possible," NAHB said in its post, noting $300 billion in spending plans from Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon. "That demand is being met with land, and much of it is land that would otherwise have become housing."Data centers are a flash point in the public eye, with some residents complaining about their potential impact on power and water usage in neighborhoods. Data center advocates have pushed back on some...