Legal marijuana and property values

Ohio just became the 24th state with legal cannabis consumption and over 50% of the country lives where you can walk into a dispensary and buy pre-rolls, gummies, etc. States with legal weed benefit greatly from tax revenue, usually more than alcohol. Crime is not increasing. But what about legal marijuana and real estate values?

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), cities with retail dispensaries in states where recreational marijuana is legal saw an average home value increase of $22,888 more from 2014 to 2019 than in cities where marijuana is illegal.

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In general, states with full legalization are also states with younger populations and larger industrial bases, attracting a more receptive population. A Gallup poll also found that households with incomes over $100,000 were most likely to support legalization.

Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels

There are downsides for cannabis users in the real estate market. Like tobacco, weed can leave a mark on a home that can directly impact the sale/rental of a property. A NAR survey released in April 2023 found that in states where medical marijuana is legal, about two-fifths of members in states where both medical and recreational marijuana are legal had no problems leasing a property after they had consumed marijuana in a property (similar). until 2021). When there were problems, smell was the most common problem, faced by 30 to 35 percent of these members.

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There is also interesting data for commercial real estate. In states where medical and recreational use of marijuana is legal, demand has increased in warehouses and retail stores. Last year also saw an increase in buying properties versus renting them. Warehouses accounted for the majority of the increase, followed by properties and storefronts.

Another study shows that home values ​​in legal states were $48,983 higher over the last decade than those where marijuana is still banned. This recently published study comes from Real Estate Witch, an online publication of Clever Real Estate.