Dive Brief:
- New data out of Colorado claims the real estate values in areas close to a large wind farm have risen, Fox 21 News reports.
- The data, from El Paso, Colorado County Assessor Steve Schleiker, tracked 931 single family residential sales with an assessed value of $173.8 million that sold for an aggregate $239.1 million.
- El Paso County is home to NextEra Energy’s 249 MW Golden West wind farm that began operation in October 2015 and earlier this year was the target of complaints from nearby residents concerned that the turbines were making them sick.
Dive Insight:
Concerns about wind power are often focused on the intermittent nature of the electricity they produce, but some critics say that wind farms can cause health problems that can prompt people to sell their houses and move, thus lowering property values. The phenomena has engendered a several reports.
The latest data in that debate comes from El Paso County, Colorado, where County Assessor Steve Schleiker has studied the results of recent home sales.
Schleiker says he has “continually provided updates as to the property (residential, commercial, vacant, and agricultural) sales that have occurred within the Wind Farm/Transmission line boundary,” including a two-mile buffer. Since January 1, 2015, there have been 931 single family residential sales in that area
“Property values are selling higher than what the current assessor’s value is. I’m seeing increase in the median sale price of the properties,” Schleiker said in a Fox News report.
In an email response to questions, Schleiker said, “Residential sales are definitely up from past years and are seeing some real estate recovery county wide. I would also attribute some of the increase to the ‘hot’ residential market we are experiencing here in El Paso County. We are definitely seeing a ‘sellers’ market here.”
El Paso County is also apparently a hot area for wind development. Media reports says Xcel Energy is planning to build the state’s largest wind farm, 600 MW, in eastern Colorado.