Nearly 500 Listings Now Mention Data Centers. Here's What It Means.
Mentions are up 49% in a year, driven by Texas land. Sellers are split on whether a data center next door is a selling point or a warning.
Data centers are showing up in real estate listings more than ever. As of October 13, 2026, 477 active U.S. listings mentioned a data center, up 49.1% from 320 a year earlier, according to new Compass research. That's still a small slice of the roughly 2 million homes and properties for sale, but the number is climbing fast.
New listings tell the same story. In the third quarter of 2026, 250 newly listed properties mentioned data centers, up 55.3% from 161 a year earlier and the highest third-quarter count in records dating back to 2019.
The growth is coming mostly from land, particularly in Texas, where sellers are pitching acreage to developers racing to build for the AI boom. But homeowners are part of the story too, and they don't all see data centers the same way.
About 38% of Americans, nearly 2 in 5, already live within five miles of at least one data center, according to Pew Research Center figures cited by Compass. For buyers and sellers, how a listing talks about that is becoming a real part of the conversation.
Listings that mention data centers
U.S. MLS listings mentioning "data center" or "datacenter"
Source: Compass research, U.S. MLS data. Q3 2026 is the highest third-quarter count in records dating to 2019.
What kinds of properties mention data centers?
Mostly land, at about two-thirds of active listings. Single-family homes make up 17% and rentals 6.1%.
New listings look different. In the third quarter, single-family homes took the largest share of new listings mentioning data centers, at 39.2%, just ahead of land at 37.2%. Because there are about six times as many new home listings as new land listings overall, data centers still show up in a far larger share of land listings.
Land also tends to sit on the market longer than homes, which is part of why it dominates the active count.
| Property type | Active listings | New, Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Land | 65% | 37.2% |
| Single-family homes | 17% | 39.2% |
| Rentals | 6.1% | 10.4% |
Share of listings mentioning data centers. Source: Compass research.
Land leads active listings. Homes lead new ones.
Share of listings mentioning data centers, by property type
Source: Compass research. "Other" is the remaining share not broken out in the report. Rentals are 6.1% of active listings.
Which states have the most listings mentioning data centers?
Texas, by a wide margin, with 192 listings, up 69.9% from 113 a year ago. Arizona is a distant second with 34, followed by Georgia, Iowa and Ohio. Texas is also second in the nation for planned data centers, behind Virginia, according to Pew figures cited in the Compass report. Its open land and energy resources make it a natural target for developers, who look for sites near transmission lines, in tax abatement-friendly counties and outside floodplains.
Texas has more than all other leaders combined
Active listings mentioning data centers, Oct. 13, 2026
Source: Compass research. Top five states shown. Texas is up 69.9% from 113 a year earlier.
How are sellers talking about data centers in their listings?
In four main ways, according to Compass. Most listings treat a data center as a positive, but not all of them.
A development site
Land marketed directly to data center builders, from a parcel in Dateland, Arizona, to more than 600 acres in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and acreage in Taylor, Texas, with a high-voltage transmission tower.A sign of growth
Homes and land pitched as being near major projects, like a Montgomery, Alabama, home near a Meta data center investment of more than $1.5 billion.Worker housing
Homes and lots marketed to the people building and running data centers, including a Hawley, Texas, home near OpenAI and Google projects.A drawback
Less common. A Burnet, Texas, ranch advertised "no data centers," and a Michigan parcel carries a deed restriction banning them for 50 years.Why don't more homeowners mention nearby data centers?
Because many see them as a negative. Compass economist Jonah Coste notes that while landowners want to profit from the AI boom, homeowners often view a nearby data center as a detractor, citing concerns about noise and rising electricity costs. One Las Vegas listing even marketed its paid-off solar panels as protection against future data center-driven power bills.
Local pushback is real, too. Nearly 160 data center projects have been paused or canceled since 2024, according to Politico reporting cited by Compass. Texas land specialist Rick Doak of Compass Ranch and Land points to worries about water use, air quality, property values and rural roads, and notes that the economic boost may be front-loaded, since many data centers take 18 to 24 months to build.
Wondering how what's being built near your home affects its value? Contact Darrell Williams for a pricing analysis.
What does this mean for New York City buyers and sellers?
Data centers are mostly a land and suburban story, but the lesson carries over to New York City. What gets built near a property, and what it does to energy costs and neighborhood demand, shapes how buyers value it.
The takeaway
For buyers: look beyond the apartment. Ask about planned development nearby, a building's energy costs and any changes to common charges or maintenance tied to utilities.
For sellers: be accurate about what's around your property, and price against the competition buyers are actually comparing you to. How you frame a nearby project can matter as much as the project itself.
For investors: infrastructure drives value. The same forces pushing data center land prices in Texas, like power, zoning and access, are worth watching in every market.
Frequently asked questions
How many real estate listings mention data centers?
477 active U.S. listings mentioned data centers as of October 13, 2026, out of roughly 2 million, according to Compass research. That's up 49.1% from 320 a year earlier.
Which states have the most listings mentioning data centers?
Texas leads with 192, up 69.9% from 113 a year earlier, followed by Arizona with 34, Georgia with 22, Iowa with 19 and Ohio with 15.
What types of properties mention data centers?
Mostly land, at about 65% of active listings. Single-family homes make up 17% and rentals 6.1%. Among new listings in the third quarter of 2026, single-family homes took the largest share at 39.2%.
Do data centers raise or lower nearby home values?
It depends on who's selling. Landowners often market data centers as an investment opportunity or a sign of growth, while some homeowners treat them as a drawback because of noise and rising electricity costs, according to Compass.
Why are data centers built in places like Texas?
Developers look for available land near transmission lines and energy resources, in counties friendly to tax abatements and outside floodplains. Texas has plenty of all of these.
Should sellers mention a nearby data center in a listing?
Sellers should be accurate about what's near their property. How to frame it depends on the property type and the buyer, which is where an experienced agent helps.
What does this mean for New York City buyers and sellers?
Data centers are mostly a land and suburban story, but the same questions apply in NYC: what's planned nearby, what it does to energy costs and how buyers see it. Contact Darrell Williams for a private consultation.
Thinking about buying or selling in New York City? Contact Darrell Williams for a private consultation, or view my Compass profile and listings.
