What Homeowners & Homebuyers Should Know
A Data Center Is Coming Near Me. What Would I Want to Know Before Buying a Home?
We've talked about what a data center is.
We've talked about what it needs to operate.
Now let's bring this back to the question I would actually ask as a homeowner:
If a data center were going to be built near my house, would I want to live there?
And honestly?
I don't know.
And I think that's okay.
Because the answer would depend on the specific project.
First, I'd want to know exactly where it is.
Not just:
“It's nearby.”
How close?
What's between the house and the facility?
Is there a road?
Another commercial property?
A tree line?
Open land?
How much of the facility will I actually see?
A home directly next to a large industrial facility is a very different situation from a home several miles away.
Distance matters.
So does everything between you and the facility.
Then I'd want to know exactly what is being built.
How large is the facility?
How many buildings?
How tall?
Is it one phase or multiple phases?
What will the finished site look like?
What type of cooling equipment will be outside?
Where will the substations be?
Will there be backup generators?
What roads will construction and employees use?
And perhaps one of the most important questions:
Is this the entire project—or just Phase 1?
Because I don't want to make my decision based only on what I'm seeing in the first set of plans.
What about noise?
I'd want to know what I'll hear during construction.
Heavy equipment.
Trucks.
Road work.
Utility construction.
And then I'd want to know what I'll hear after the facility is operating.
Cooling equipment and other mechanical systems can produce sound, and backup generators may also be part of the facility.
Maybe I won't care.
Maybe I will.
But I'd rather know before I buy.
What about the view?
This is where the 10 acres next door comes back into the conversation.
Imagine buying a home because it backs up to beautiful undeveloped land.
Today, you have trees.
Maybe wildlife.
Maybe a gorgeous sunset.
Maybe just peace and quiet.
But you don't own that 10 acres.
So what can happen there?
If that property matters to my buying decision, I'd want to investigate it.
I'd want to know:
- Who owns it?
- Is anything currently proposed?
- Are there development applications?
- Are permits in progress?
- What does the local land-use plan allow?
- Are roads or utilities planned?
- Could additional development occur later?
And I'd contact the appropriate local planning, development or permitting authorities to see what information is publicly available.
That doesn't mean someone can tell me exactly what will happen ten years from now.
Nobody has a crystal ball.
But there is a big difference between:
“Nothing has been proposed.”
and
“Nothing can ever be built.”
Know the difference.
And this is not just a data-center lesson.
I've had clients who didn't want to buy near power lines.
I've had buyers who didn't want a busy road behind their house.
Some buyers don't want commercial property nearby.
Other buyers don't care.
Some people will pay more for a wooded view.
Others would rather have a grocery store five minutes away.
Buyers are individuals.
And because buyers are individuals, their perception of a property's surroundings can affect how desirable that property is.
That's why I would be very careful about making a blanket statement that a data center will automatically increase or decrease nearby home values.
The evidence isn't that simple.
The specific facility, distance, surrounding development, noise, visual impact and buyer preferences can all matter.
So instead of saying:
“Data centers lower property values,”
I'd rather say:
“If you're buying near one, understand what you're buying next to and consider how future buyers might perceive the location.”
That's a much more useful real estate conversation.
And then there's electricity.
This one is particularly personal for me because I live in Montgomery County.
If you've lived in Texas long enough, you know what happens when Mother Nature decides to remind us who's in charge.
Hurricanes.
Severe storms.
Winter freezes.
Extreme heat.
We don't wonder if we'll eventually have another major weather event. We wonder when.
So if a large new electricity user is coming into my area, I would want to know:
How will it connect to the grid?
Will new substations be required?
Will transmission lines be built?
What does the utility say about capacity?
What happens during a grid emergency?
Does the facility have backup generation?
Can it reduce its electricity demand during an emergency?
I am not saying:
“A data center will make my neighborhood lose power.”
We don't have evidence to make that claim.
I'm asking a different question:
“What protections and requirements are in place to make sure the grid can handle a very large new customer?”
That's a reasonable question.
And Texas is asking it, too.
What about water?
Living near Lake Conroe, water is another subject that gets my attention.
I've lived through Texas droughts.
I've watched lawns die.
I've watched lake levels fall.
And I know that drought restrictions can affect homeowners and businesses differently depending on the water source and local rules.
So if I'm buying near a proposed data center, I'd want to know:
Where does its water come from?
How much will it use?
What cooling technology is being used?
What happens during drought?
What does its water agreement say?
Those answers matter much more to me than a generic statement that “data centers use a lot of water.”
Here's something else I've learned while researching this series.
This is a very new and very fast-moving topic—and sometimes even the terminology can get confusing.
For example, you've probably seen stories about the massive Tesla/SpaceX Terafab project planned for Grimes County.
It is enormous—about 100 million square feet—with an initial investment announced at $16.8 billion and plans for at least 3,000 jobs.
But here's the important part:
It is not simply a traditional data center.
Terafab is a semiconductor manufacturing complex designed to produce chips for Tesla and SpaceX applications, including AI-related computing and space-based data centers.
Why does that matter?
Because if I saw a headline or social-media post saying:
“Huge AI data center coming to Grimes County!”
I might assume it was a data center.
It isn't that simple.
And that's why I think this is one of the most important lessons in this entire series:
Don't just research the rumor. Research the project.
Don't rely solely on a Facebook post.
Don't rely on a neighborhood conversation.
Don't even rely on one headline.
Find out what is actually being proposed.
Who is proposing it?
What are they building?
Where?
How large?
What has actually been approved?
What still requires approval?
What infrastructure is required?
And what can change?
Because this industry is moving incredibly quickly, the information available today may not be the information available six months from now.
And we are seeing that happen right now in Texas.
As of August 2026, Texas is conducting a statewide audit of roughly 250–300 large-load projects, most of them data centers, before they can move forward through the ERCOT interconnection process.
That means some of the projects we're hearing about today are still moving through a process.
“Planned” doesn't necessarily mean “approved.”
And “proposed” definitely doesn't mean “built.”
That's an important distinction for a homebuyer.
What about what's happening locally?
This isn't just some distant Texas issue.
Here in our region, Conroe is currently working on proposed requirements for future data-center development. The proposed rules include things such as site plans, energy and water-use studies, emergency response planning, noise and utility requirements. Conroe currently does not have a data center, but city officials say they want safeguards in place before one arrives.
That is a great example of what we've been talking about throughout this series.
A community doesn't necessarily have to wait until something is built to start asking questions.
And the rules can vary from one community to another.
So if you're concerned about a proposed project near you, don't assume the answer is the same as it would be somewhere else in Texas.
Research the specific project.
So what would I investigate before buying?
If I were seriously considering a home near a proposed data center—or any other large development—I'd want to investigate:
The project
- What exactly is being built?
- How large is it?
- How many phases?
- Who owns it?
- What's the timeline?
Electricity
- How will it be powered?
- Are new substations or transmission lines planned?
- What happens during grid emergencies?
- Is backup generation planned?
Water
- What is the water source?
- How much will be consumed?
- What cooling technology is being used?
- What happens during drought?
The neighborhood
- How close is it?
- What will I see?
- What will I hear?
- Will lighting affect nearby properties?
- What will construction traffic look like?
The surrounding land
- Who owns the vacant property nearby?
- Is anything proposed?
- What does the local development plan allow?
- Could additional development occur later?
And finally...the real estate question
How do buyers in this particular market feel about it?
Are nearby homes selling?
Are buyers raising concerns?
Are homes taking longer to sell?
Are there comparable properties that can help us understand the market?
Because that's how real estate works.
We don't determine value based on one person's opinion.
We look at the market.
Here's something else I want homeowners to remember.
No one is going to be able to answer every question for you.
If a particular development is coming to your area, you may have to research that specific project.
You may need to look at planning documents.
You may need to contact the city or county.
You may need to look at utility information.
You may need to read proposed development plans.
You may need to ask questions at public meetings.
And honestly?
That's not really different from any other development.
We've always had to keep up with the “progress” happening around us.
A new road.
A new neighborhood.
A shopping center.
A warehouse.
A school.
A business park.
Development changes communities.
Sometimes we welcome those changes.
Sometimes we don't.
Sometimes we love what gets built.
Sometimes we miss what was there before.
That's part of living in a growing community.
So, would I buy next to a data center?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
And I don't think there is one correct answer.
It would depend on the project, the distance, the infrastructure, the surroundings and, honestly, how I felt about living there.
Maybe someone else would look at the same property and say:
“I don't care.”
That's real estate.
Here's what I do know.
We're going to keep growing.
I'm in real estate. I understand that.
People need homes.
Businesses need places to operate.
Technology needs infrastructure.
Communities need jobs, investment and tax revenue.
But growth also changes places.
I've watched wooded land disappear.
I've watched neighborhoods replace open fields.
I've watched our lakes rise and fall.
I've lived through storms and freezes that reminded me how important reliable electricity is.
So when I hear about a major new development, I don't automatically think:
“That's good.”
And I don't automatically think:
“That's bad.”
I think:
“Okay. Tell me what it means.”
What are we building?
What does it require?
What does the community gain?
What does it give up?
What happens when water is scarce?
What happens when electricity is scarce?
What happens during an emergency?
And what does it mean for the people who live nearby?
Because whether it's a data center, a giant distribution facility, a new neighborhood or simply 10 acres of vacant land behind the house you're considering...
You're not just buying the house. You're buying the location.
We can't predict everything that will happen in the future.
But we can ask questions.
We can investigate what's already in the works.
We can look at the facts.
And we can make the best decision we can with the information available to us.
That's what I'd want to do.
A Note About This Series
Data-center development in Texas is moving quickly, and proposed projects, regulations and available information can change.
This series is intended to help homeowners and homebuyers understand the questions to ask—not to tell you what you should think about a particular project.
If you're considering a property near a proposed development, research the specific project and verify the most current information with the appropriate local agencies.
Know what it is. Know what it means. Make an informed decision.
Jacque Swanner | INC Realty
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