Tech companies like Microsoft and Google are snatching up land in Prince William County, Virginia, instead of housing developers. Steve Alloy, CEO of home builder Stanley Martin, discovered this trend five years ago when he was preparing to develop 516 new homes. He noticed that tech giants were buying up surrounding land, while a nearby development sold its rights for $31 million. Since then, Alloy’s company has received calls from land brokers about the sudden interest in data centers. This shift suggests that “housing may not be as viable” as previously thought.
Source: https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/data-center-land-deals-housing-shortage-81ea6e09