U.S. Home Prices Are Higher Near EV Charging Stations

House prices in the top U.S. ZIP codes for electric vehicles (EVs) are higher in areas in close proximity to EV charging stations than in the surrounding metro areas, a new analysis by realtor.com showed on Monday.

The analysis used data from Open Charge Map to track 19,743 charging stations across 6,980 ZIP codes, and then analyzed the housing markets of the top 20 areas with the most EV charging stations.

The realtor.com analysis found that the median listing price for the top 20 ZIP codes for EV charging stations—of which nine are in California—is US$782,000. This is 1.5 times higher than the listing price in their surrounding areas and a good 2.6 times higher than the rest of the U.S.

“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, said in a statement.

“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,” Hale said.

The top 20 ZIP codes for EVs in the U.S., based on the number of EV charging stations per ZIP code, is topped by Irvine, California, followed by Paso Robles, California; Orlando, Florida; San Diego, California; and Saint Helena, California.

Outside California, the top 20 ZIP codes includes cities in Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas, the realtor.com analysis showed.  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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