As most everyone knows, real estate is all about "location, location, location." And as new research by realtor.com has found, proximity to an electric vehicle charging station has become one of the newest indicators of a valuable location.
The website used data from OpenChargeMap to map 19,743 charging stations across 6,980 zip codes, then analyzed the housing markets in the top 20 cities with the most stations. Nine of the top 20 cities were in California, including the No. 1 spot, Irvine, which has 77 charging stations, more than double the 30 or so stations that the rest of the cities on the list average. Furthermore, Irvine's median listing price of $949,000 is 1.3 times as much as the overall metro area average, and 3.2 times the national average.
The combined median listing price for all of the top 20 areas is $782,000, and homes in locations that are accommodating to EV drivers have listing prices that are 1.5 times higher than their surrounding metro areas and 2.6 times higher than the rest of the country.
"Our data shows there's definitely a link between the prevalence of electric-vehicle charging stations and higher home prices," Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com, told Forbes. "But there's a difference between correlation and causation. The trend we're seeing in the data is most likely a result of the fact that wealthier homeowners are more likely to purchase expensive electric vehicles. But regardless of the cause, if you're shopping for a home in a Zip with an abundance of electric-vehicle charging stations, you'll likely pay a premium."
California's strong showing on the list is unsurprising, given the fact that EVs account for 10% of all new car sales in the Golden State. The state's strong charging infrastructure, combined with incentives to purchase or lease electric cars, have helped speed up EV adoption in California.
Other housing markets that appear to be benefiting from a growth in EV charger ubiquity can be found in Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas. Although many of these cities, such as Columbus and Orlando, tend to be far more affordable than California's most EV-friendly zip codes, they still boast property values that are 1.5 times higher than their surrounding metro median and two times higher than the U.S. median listing price.
While simply living near an EV station can raise your property values, having your own built-in home charger will definitely make your property more attractive to potential buyers.
Contact us today to learn more about Webasto's electric vehicle home charging stations, including how easy it is to purchase and install a brand new EV charger.