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Figure 2: Share of EV-friendly homes among homes listed on Realtor.com

Markets with crowded public charging stations could see higher demand for EV-friendly homes

In addition to the growing use of electric vehicles, the limited availability of public charging stations will drive the demand for EV-friendly homes. Therefore, we consider public charging stations as potential alternatives for at-home charging. These include charging stations with ports accessible to the general public, such as those in shopping mall parking lots and those at workplace settings where only employees have access.

Specifically, if public charging stations are frequently congested, electric vehicle owners are more likely to demand at-home charging to avoid long waiting times. To measure this effect, we calculated the ratio of EVs to public charging ports within each metro, interpreted as a congestion index. ² A higher index value indicates more crowded public charging stations, strengthening the case for prioritizing in-home charging and potential higher demand for EV-friendly homes.

Within the top 100 metros, the congestion index varies from 4 to 62, with an average index of 19. Notably, Albany, NY, exhibits the lowest ratio, with just 4 electric vehicles per public charging port, while McAllen, TX, experiences the highest ratio, with 62 EVs per public charging port.

Table 1 shows the list of metros with the highest congestion index, suggesting higher potential demand for at-home charging.听

Table 1: Metros with the most crowded public charging ports, top 100 metros

However, some of the markets with the most crowded public charging infrastructure have relatively low overall levels of EV ownership.

Specifically, it is interesting to see metros such as Oxnard, CA; Stockton, CA; Riverside, CA; Urban Honolulu, HI; and Portland, OR, pop up on the list where we see higher EV ownership rates and crowded public charging facilities, suggesting higher demand for at-home chargers.

Top EV-friendly housing markets

Table 2 shows a list of the top EV-friendly housing markets among the top 100 metros, characterized by a favorable combination of EV-friendly housing supply and demand.

The supply of EV-friendly housing is measured by the share of EV-friendly homes listed on Realtor.com in 2023, and the demand is assessed by the congestion index as calculated by EVs per public port. A higher share of EV-friendly listings implies greater availability of homes equipped with at-home chargers on the market. However, a higher congestion index signals a demand for more EV-friendly homes due to crowded public charging facilities, indicating demand surpasses supply.

The top EV-friendly markets were determined by calculating percentile levels for each metric and subsequently deriving a weighted average between the two to come up with an EV-friendly housing score for each market, forming the basis for market rankings.

Table 2: Top EV-friendly housing markets

Among the top 20 EV-friendly housing markets, eight of these markets are California metros, led by San Jose, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

It is very interesting to see non-California markets like Salt Lake City, UT, near the top of the list. The higher share of EV-friendly listings and the less crowded public charging facilities suggest that the housing market in Salt Lake City has a great combination of supply and demand for EV-friendly homes.

In fact, Salt Lake City, UT; Denver, CO; and Durham, NC, are the metros with the highest share of young households (with head of household aged 25 to 34). In addition, many of these top markets either are important tech hubs or have rising tech sectors.听

At-home EV charging is accessible to many older homes

The significance of having an at-home EV charger is growing for both homebuyers and sellers, particularly in markets with a higher prevalence of EVs but limited public charging infrastructure. For buyers, the availability of home charging options can save considerable time and money, and enhance overall convenience. Sellers stand to benefit by showcasing an EV home charger as a notable feature, attracting a broader pool of potential buyers. However, a common misconception about home chargers is that they are exclusively applicable to recently built homes.听

It is generally true that at-home EV chargers are more common among newer homes. The typical EV-friendly home was just 6 years old versus 29 years for the typical home without such a feature. ³ In addition, among all the EV-friendly homes listed in 2023, 31.7% of them were built after 2020 and 47.3% of them were built in or after 2010. Put another way, nearly one-third of EV-friendly home listings in 2023 were built within the past four years while nearly half were built in the past 14 years.

Specifically, among all these EV-friendly homes built in or after 2010, the greatest share of them were in Riverside, CA (5.6%); Atlanta, GA (5.1%); Los Angeles, CA (5.0%); and Seattle, WA (4.9%).

Looking ahead, there will be more new homes that are EV-friendly, especially driven by supportive policies promoting EV adoption. For example, as of September 2022, require that 鈥渘ew one- and two-unit single family dwellings or townhouses with attached private garages must have electrical conduit installed that is capable of supporting a Level 2 EV charging station.鈥�

Figure 3: While more common among newer homes, properties of any age can be EV-friendly

Nevertheless, it does not mean homeowners of older homes will not have access to home charging. In fact, 17.8% of EV-friendly homes listed on Realtor.com in 2023 were built before 1970 (i.e., 54 years ago).

Specifically, among all these older but EV-friendly homes, the greatest shares were in Los Angeles, CA (14.5%); San Francisco, CA (8.3% ); New York, NY (7.0%); and Washington, DC (5.3%). While it might be expensive to upgrade the electricity system in older homes, , including purchasing and installing electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), which could help homeowners save some costs.听

Garages are common for EV-friendly homes but are not a must

Owning a home with a garage appears to enhance the practicality of having an in-home charger, with approximately 70.4% of homes deemed EV-friendly on Realtor.com in 2023 featuring “garage” in their listing descriptions.

Notably, the significance of having a garage is more pronounced in EV-friendly homes located in markets with colder climates, such as Colorado Springs, CO; Chicago, IL; and Denver, CO, where over 90% of the listed EV-friendly properties include garages. Meanwhile, warmer metros such as Cape Coral, FL; Oxnard, CA; Phoenix, AZ; and Riverside, CA, also see around 80% of EV-friendly listings equipped with garages.

Figure 4: Markets where EV-friendly listings often include garages

Nonetheless, the absence of a garage does not imply a lack of access to at-home chargers, as 29.6% of EV-friendly listings are without a garage.

Specifically, homes without garages accounted for 57.5% of EV-friendly listings in Urban Honolulu, HI; 52.5% in Miami, FL; 46.4% in Seattle, WA; 45.7% in San Antonio, TX; 41.9% in New York, NY; and 41.5% in Boston, MA.

Figure 5: Markets where EV-friendly listings are often without garages听

Renters face bigger challenges in accessing EV charging facilities

Renters (0.25%) are more than three times less likely than homeowners (0.87%) to own an electric vehicle, according to an empirical from the University of California, Berkeley.

One important factor leading to this gap is the accessibility of charging facilities. Unlike the homeowners who can charge at home, renters, especially those who live in apartment buildings, largely rely on public charging facilities. While chargers at workplaces and public parking lots could be good options for many, a recent University of California, Los Angeles found that residents who live in multifamily dwellings showed strong preferences for near-home charging.听

Some rental communities are responding to consumer demand for EV charging facilities. Renters in Austin, TX (1.7%), and Los Angeles, CA (1.7%), faced the largest share of EV-friendly rental community listings on Realtor.com in 2023 across the top 50 metros, followed by San Jose, CA (1.4%); Orlando, FL (1.4%); Atlanta, GA (1.3%); Phoenix, AZ (1.1%); San Francisco, CA (1.0%); and San Diego, CA (1.0%). However, there are few details about how many charging ports or stations are available within these rental communities, which limits the ability of potential tenants to use this information to make decisions. In addition, EV-friendliness is a more popular feature among rental communities with “luxury” included in their listing descriptions.

For example, 6.7% of luxury rental communities in Los Angeles, CA, listed in 2023 were considered EV-friendly, and the EV-friendly share was 5.5% among luxury rental communities in Austin, TX, and San Francisco, CA.

Meanwhile, things might get slightly easier for renters living in new multifamily homes. As of September 2022, building codes require new multifamily dwellings in to have 10% of parking spaces be EV-capable and 25% of parking spaces be EV-ready. New multifamily dwellings with more than 20 units must install Level 2 EV charging stations in 5% of all parking spaces.

Methodology

The homes considered in this study are single-family homes and condos/townhomes/row homes/co-ops listed for sale on Realtor.com in 2018鈥�23. EV-friendly homes are properties featuring terms such as “electric vehicles” and “240-volt outlet” in the listing descriptions.

To understand the relations between EV ownership rates and EV-friendly homes, property-level data was consolidated into metro-level and matched to electric vehicle and public charging ports data from S&P Global and , both aggregated from the ZIP code level to the metro level.听

Top EV-friendly markets were first determined by calculating percentile levels for 1) share of EV-friendly listings and 2) congestion index (EVs per public port). Then a weighted average was taken between the two metrics to come up with an EV-friendly housing score for each market, forming the basis for market rankings. As, according to a study from the U.S. Department of Energy, 80% of EV charging is done at home, we assign 0.8 as the weight to the home metric and 0.2 to the public charging metric.

Rental communities refer to rental properties managed by property management companies listed on Realtor.com in 2023. EV-friendly rental communities are those featuring terms such as “electric vehicles” and “240-volt outlet” in the listing descriptions. For this research, we focus only on rental communities within the top 50 metros.听