Every photo you back up, every video you stream, and every question you type into an AI tool lives somewhere physical. That somewhere is a data center: a large, windowless building filled with servers that run around the clock.
For years most people never gave them a second thought. That has changed fast. The race to build artificial intelligence has set off one of the biggest construction waves in the country, and developers are hunting for land with cheap power, water, and fiber. More and more often, that land sits a short walk from someone's back fence.
If you own a home near a proposed site, or you are looking at a house with a data center down the road, here is what the Park Place Collective Team wants you to understand before you make a decision.
California. There is no large data center proposed in San Diego County yet, but county leaders are preparing for one. In January the Board of Supervisors voted 5 to 0 to study how to regulate them, county staff have since delivered a report on potential impacts and options, and in August the board unanimously backed two state bills aimed at data centers.
The project everyone is watching is about 115 miles east in Imperial County. A developer has proposed a hyperscale campus of roughly 950,000 square feet and 330 megawatts on land that is mostly zoned industrial, right next to the Victoria Ranch neighborhood in the city of Imperial. Some residents live just two houses from the site. The county approved a lot merger for the project in April, then paused all data center projects in June after months of community pushback. On September 1, a judge issued a tentative ruling indicating he may overturn the county's approval and require a full environmental review. That ruling is not final.
In Sacramento, the Legislature passed SB 886 and SB 887 on the final night of session. SB 886 would require the state Public Utilities Commission to create a separate electricity rate for new customers using at least 75 megawatts, covering the transmission, distribution, and generation costs needed to serve them. SB 887 would require data centers to go through environmental review under CEQA. Supporters say the bills protect households from higher bills. Tech and utility groups have warned they could slow development and raise costs. Both bills now go to the Governor.
Arizona. Arizona is one of the country's data center capitals, with 98 facilities operating and 86 more planned or under construction, according to Pew Research Center figures reported by Axios. Neighbors have pushed back in several communities. In Chandler, residents of the Brittany Heights neighborhood have dealt with a constant hum from a facility built in 2014, and the city later rewrote its zoning rules to require sound studies before construction, mitigation, and noise checks after the building opens. Phoenix and Mesa adopted their own data center zoning rules in 2025, and Tucson adopted a half mile setback from residential areas in August 2026.
Colorado. The Front Range is split. Denver enacted a one year moratorium in May 2026, and Jefferson County approved a 10 month pause. Aurora, which already hosts QTS's 177 megawatt campus on its eastern edge, voted against a moratorium in August and is instead drafting rules that steer projects toward water saving closed loop cooling. Meanwhile, Colorado regulators are reviewing Xcel Energy's proposal to charge the largest data center customers higher rates and stricter terms.
The takeaway: rules are changing month to month, and they differ from city to city. What was true when you toured a home may not be true by the time you close.
A data center is a quiet neighbor in some ways. There are no crowds, no drive through line, and relatively few employees once construction ends. The tradeoffs show up elsewhere.
Noise. This is the complaint neighbors raise most often. Servers generate enormous heat, and the chillers, fans, and cooling towers that remove it run 24 hours a day. Backup generators are tested on a schedule and add louder stretches. Together these sounds can carry for hundreds of feet, and neighbors in several states have reported trouble sleeping and other health complaints. Low frequency hum passes through walls and windows more easily than you might expect, and it is most noticeable at night, when everything else goes quiet. A facility can meet the local noise ordinance at its property line and still be clearly audible from your bedroom.
Light and views. Security lighting runs all night, and the buildings are massive. Berms, walls, and landscaping help, but a building covering many acres is hard to hide.
Power lines and substations. A large campus can use as much electricity as a small city. That often means a new substation and new high voltage lines, which can end up closer to homes than the data center itself.
Water. Many facilities use evaporative cooling, which consumes a lot of water. In the Southwest and across drought stricken Colorado, that is a real community concern. Newer closed loop and air cooled designs use far less, so ask which approach a specific project plans to use.
Air quality. Backup generators typically burn diesel. Air permits limit how long they can run, but if a facility sits upwind of your home, you want to know how often those generators are tested and what the permit allows.
This part reaches beyond the immediate neighborhood. When utilities build new power plants and transmission lines to serve data centers, those costs have traditionally been spread across every customer's bill, a point made by Harvard Law School's Electricity Law Initiative. That is exactly what the new rules in California and Colorado are trying to change.
It is worth being fair about the evidence, though. A Rutgers analysis of data through 2024 found only weak, mixed, and small effects on household bills near data center openings so far, while cautioning that the newest generation of AI facilities could change that picture. And in Aurora, Xcel and city water officials have said data centers do not drive individual household rates there.
Bottom line for your budget: your monthly power bill is part of the true cost of owning a home. Treat it like your taxes and insurance, and keep an eye on your utility's rate cases.
It would be unfair to paint data centers as all downside. Communities that host them often see:
• A stronger tax base. Data centers pay substantial property taxes and use few schools, parks, or public services in return. The Imperial County developer, for example, has projected about $28.7 million in annual taxes.
• Better infrastructure. Road improvements, upgraded fiber, and utility work often come with a project.
• Construction jobs and local spending, although permanent jobs are fewer than many people assume. That same Imperial project promises 2,500 construction jobs but about 100 permanent ones.
This is where the research surprises people. A George Mason University study of Northern Virginia, the densest data center market in the world, found that homes closer to data centers actually sold for more on average, and it found no statistical evidence that proximity lowered prices. The researchers' explanation is that data centers are built where roads, utilities, jobs, and airports already make neighborhoods desirable. The lead researcher has also cautioned against applying those results to other markets.
Other research is more mixed. An analysis of four Indiana data centers found that nearby home values rose, but in three of the four cases they rose less than the rest of the county. Near the LaPorte site, for example, nearby values grew 42 percent compared with 48 percent countywide. Another George Mason led study found that new data centers slowed local home price growth.
What we can say is how the market tends to behave. Averages across a region do not tell you much about the specific house that backs onto cooling equipment. Buyers pay for peace and quiet, and homes with a direct line of sight to a facility, or within earshot of a constant hum, generally draw fewer buyers. Appraisers are also in a state of flux: developers sometimes pay big premiums for land near these projects, which can create outlier sales that complicate valuations. Distance, direction, and what sits between you and the building matter more than any headline.
And remember: whatever questions you have as a buyer today, the next buyer will ask too when you sell. Think about resale on day one.
• The appraisal. Appraisers must note nearby hazards and nuisances and comment on how they affect marketability. If the value comes in below the contract price, that changes your down payment and your negotiating position.
• FHA and power lines. FHA rules do not allow high voltage transmission lines to pass directly over the home, other structures, or a pool. If the home or its improvements sit inside a transmission line easement, the lender needs a letter from the utility confirming they are outside the tower's engineered fall distance. If a project brings new lines or a substation near the property, confirm eligibility before you write an offer.
• Your total monthly cost. If power rates are rising in the area, factor that into what payment feels comfortable.
• Know the local rules. Moratoriums, setbacks, and noise standards now vary city by city across California, Arizona, and Colorado.
• Visit at different times. Go at night, early in the morning, and on a hot afternoon when cooling systems work hardest. Stand in the backyard and in the bedrooms with the windows open.
• Talk to the neighbors. They will tell you what the listing will not.
• Read the disclosures carefully. In California, the seller disclosure forms ask about neighborhood noise problems and other nuisances. Ask follow up questions about anything checked, and about anything you notice that is not.
• Ask about generator testing. Find out how often the backup generators run and at what times of day. A good operator will publish noise studies and test windows in advance.
• Look up your utility. Review recent and pending rate increases and any grid expansion plans that touch the neighborhood.
• Talk to your lender before you make an offer, especially if you plan to use an FHA or other government loan.
Stay informed and stay involved. Imperial County is a clear example of how much public hearings, environmental review, and resident participation can shape the outcome. That is where neighbors have the most influence over setbacks, sound walls, landscaping, lighting, and generator schedules.
Avoid a rushed decision to sell based on a headline. A proposal is not a finished building, and the final design often looks very different from the first plan. If a facility is already operating nearby, upgrades like dual pane windows, solid core doors, and sound fencing can make a noticeable difference inside your home.
Disclose what you know. In California that is not optional, and a surprise discovered during escrow does far more damage than an honest conversation up front. Price the home using sales with similar exposure, and highlight real advantages such as fiber availability or a local tax base that is funding improvements.
A data center down the road is not automatically a deal breaker, and it is not automatically fine. It is one more factor to weigh, like a busy street, a flight path, or a freeway. The buyers who end up happy are the ones who asked the right questions before they signed.
That is where the Park Place Collective Team comes in. Because we handle real estate, mortgage, and life insurance under one roof across California, Arizona, and Colorado, we can help you evaluate the home, the neighborhood, and the financing together, so nothing gets missed between the offer and the closing table. If you are weighing a home near a data center, or wondering how a proposed project could affect the home you already own, reach out. We are happy to walk through it with you.
Park Place Collective
Email jcosta@parkplacefg.com | Office 619-990-7552 | Cell 646-245-7856
NMLS 2571108 | DRE 02230476 | DFPI 60DBO-212395
Joe Costa NMLS 113396, DRE 01410823 | Marni Costa DRE 01858497 |
This article reflects information available as of September 2026 and is for general information only. It is not legal, tax, or environmental advice. Rules and conditions vary by city, county, and state and are changing quickly. Please consult the appropriate professionals about your specific situation.
• San Diego County Planning, Data Centers project page: https://engage.sandiegocounty.gov/data-centers
• North County Pipeline, Supervisors back state bills regulating data centers (August 2026)
• KPBS, Judge preparing to halt massive Imperial County data center (September 2026)
• CalMatters and inewsource reporting on the Imperial County project and moratorium (April to June 2026)
• DatacenterDynamics, California lawmakers pass data center ratepayer protection bills (September 2026)
• Agri Pulse, California lawmakers consider strict controls on data centers (June 2026)
• Axios Phoenix, Neighborhoods push back on Arizona data centers (May 2026)
• Environmental and Energy Study Institute, Communities are raising noise pollution concerns about data centers
• Axios, Colorado Public Radio, Hoodline, and Sentinel Colorado reporting on Denver, Jefferson County, Aurora, and Xcel (2026)
• PolitiFact, How much have data centers increased electricity prices? (June 2026)
• Rutgers Bloustein School, Are data centers raising your electric bill? Mostly not. Yet. (2026)
• George Mason University Schar School, Study: Home prices are higher when the house is near a data center
• Indiana Public Media, Will data centers impact property values? Depends on who you ask (April 2026)
• HousingWire, Data centers emerge as real estate's newest pricing wildcard (2026)
• HUD Handbook 4000.1 and HOC Reference Guide on overhead high voltage transmission lines
