The use of technology promises to fuel the economy, boost job growth, create efficiencies, encourage innovation, etc, and it has also enriched those that have invested in these companies tremendously along with the companies and individuals who benefit from tech. Tech is a form of infrastructure, akin to bridges and roads, although mostly privately owned/publicly traded.  Most of us benefit from these investments if we have any form of retirement fund/401k as they are all invested in tech.

Today I ponder whether the tech sector is one of the (many) causes of elevated housing costs, not just a purchase or rental price. Here are some thoughts:

1.  There are about 9,000 data centers worldwide. We are in the midst of a data center construction building boom, further fueled by A. I. The labor needed to build these centers is enormous, around 1,500 people per datacenter. That is a lot of labor that could be used to build homes.

2.  The amount of materials required to build these data centers is huge and because we live in a supply-demand economy determining costs, it can be surmised that the demands for these materials for data centers helps fuel the rise in cost of building materials for homes.

3.  Many data centers get tax breaks and incentives, funded mostly by us, the taxpayer. States like Iowa and South Carolina may offer a full sales tax exemption on data center equipment purchases. Some localities may offer property tax breaks for a set period to incentivize data center construction. Certain states might provide income tax credits for building data centers in designated areas.

4.  Often receiving incentives to build requires the data center to employ XYZ number of jobs. Sometimes these jobs require skills that attract 'outsiders' with bigger incomes and budgets who buy/rent locally and help fuel housing prices. It takes 1,000-1,500 people to build a data center. These builders drive housing costs upwards for temporary housing.

5.  Data centers need lots of water to cool them and lots of electricity unless they are generating it themselves via solar. In 2023, data centers across the globe consumed 7.4 GW of power, a 55% increase from the 4.9 Gigawatts in 2022. Every datacenter uses the same amount of power needed for 50,000-80,000 homes. This additional demand fuels pricing of water and electricity, adding to the cost of housing.