Electric vehicles are already impacting home prices

The projected rise in sales of electric vehicles is already starting to have an effect on home prices according to a new study.

The market for electric vehicles – and especially hybrid electric vehicles which combine fuel engines with electric components – expected to grow to 30% of global vehicle sales by 2025 according to JP Morgan Research in October 2018.

A new analysis from realtor.com found that already, homes in the top 20 neighborhoods in the US that are closest to electric charging stations are listing for 1.5% more on average than those that are not.

"Our data shows there's definitely a link between the prevalence of electric vehicle charging stations and higher home prices," says Danielle Hale, chief economist, realtor.com®. "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."

According to the analysis, the combined median listing price for the top 20 ZIP codes is $782,000, 1.5 times higher than their surrounding metro area on average, and 2.6 times higher than the rest of the country. Half of homes in these ZIP codes sell in 75 days, 15 days slower than their surrounding metro area on average, and 10 days slower than the rest of the country, consistent with sales trends in pricier areas.

"Electric Vehicles often come with great perks such as being able to use HOV lanes without having additional passengers in the vehicle,” Hale told MPA. “Anyone hoping to take advantage of EV-owner benefits, such as contributing to lower vehicle emissions, will appreciate having stations in close proximity to their home. In addition, policies that encourage EV adoption lead to more charging stations, which likely explains why many California markets are on the list of top areas."