Data centres may affect nearby home prices, but impact remains unclear

Data centres built close to homes could reduce nearby property prices, while also boosting housing demand in some smaller towns, Yle reports. Real estate agents say they have not yet seen a clear effect on prices.

Finland’s Hypo mortgage lender warned in a recent housing credit assessment that a data centre built next door could lower home values. Data centres are being developed close to residential areas in cities including Lahti, Oulu and Kouvola.

Agents say the effects may become clearer once the facilities are finished. Katja Kolu, sales director at Bo LKV in Lahti, said buyers are cautious in general and that a data centre could be one of several factors affecting a purchase decision.

A large building that changes the view from a home can make it less appealing to buyers, whether it is a data centre or another type of development, said Pertti Kuikka, sales director at Remax Masto. Reetta Kuusikko, sales director at Huoneistokeskus in Espoo, said industrial areas, power lines and factories are not usually buyer attractions.

In Oulu, Nokia is planning an artificial intelligence campus in the Toppila district, about four kilometres from the city centre. The project, which could cost as much as five billion euros, would be built beside an existing district heating power plant in an area with many homes.

Janne Hietanen, chair of the Finnish Real Estate Agents Association’s regional committee for northern Finland, does not expect nearby property prices to fall. He said the development could even have a positive effect and suggested its presence might reassure residents about the risk of power cuts.

In Kouvola, demand has grown for larger rental homes near land being developed for data centres, according to real estate agent Minna Ruppa of Sp-Koti. The trend could also attract property investors. However, agent Juha Tapiola of Kotijoukkue Kouvola said prices in the areas concerned are already so low that they have little room to fall further.

Agents in Lahti and Kajaani said they had not seen data centres affect home prices. Several data centres are already operating less than two kilometres from central Kajaani. In Lahti, a facility is being built in the Kiveriö industrial district, near apartment blocks and detached homes. Construction there has caused noise that has disturbed nearby residents.

Kuikka said data centres do not create the noise or heavy truck traffic associated with some other industrial facilities.