American homeowners in states where recreational cannabis is legal have seen the price of their houses increase by an average of 41% compared to homes in states where it is not legal, according to a report.
Analysis of house prices from 2014 to 2023 by Real Estate Witch revealed that homes in legal states are worth $122,287 more than those in states that have not yet relaxed legislation on recreational cannabis use.
“From 2014 to 2023, home values climbed an average of $48,983 more in states with recreational cannabis, compared to states without recreational cannabis”, the report says.
“It’s not surprising that states across the U.S. have seen significant increases in property values, given that the value of real estate generally increases over time. But the growing gap between home values in legal and illegal states sticks out like a green thumb.
“In states where recreational cannabis is legal, home values have risen by $185,075 since 2014. In the 27 states where recreational cannabis hasn’t been legalized, home values have risen by $136,092 in the same time span.”
Out of the ten states where house prices have risen the most since 2014, seven have a fully legal cannabis market, two are medical only, and only Ihao which has seen the sixth biggest increase in the country has no access to weed at all.
Distinctly, of the ten states with the slowest house value growth nine have no legal cannabis market, neither recreational nor medical.
Dispensaries also affect the local area, according to the same study prices rose $168,292 since 2014, $67,359 more than in cities without a recreational cannabis outlet.
“There’s a notion that dispensaries hurt property values, but the data shows cities in recreational states that have dispensaries report better home-value growth than cities without dispensaries in legal states”, the report notes.
