AI is Making Power the New Driver of Real Estate Value, Say ULI and Heitman

The expanding use of artificial intelligence and development of data centers to generate it are making access to power the new driver of real estate value, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Heitman said in a new report. According to the report, titled Investment Strategies in the AI Era: Power Is the New Location, reliable access to power, transmission infrastructure and connectivity increasingly influences where development can occur and which markets attract investment.

The report explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping real estate economics and redefining the drivers of long-term value creation. Markets with abundant energy, transmission capacity, fiber connectivity and the ability to deliver new power quickly could gain a growing advantage in attracting investment, development, jobs and economic activity.

“For decades, the first rule of real estate was location, location, location,” said Laura Craft, global head of portfolio sustainability Strategies at Heitman. “As AI transforms the global economy, power availability is becoming just as important. Access to power, connectivity, and technology-ready infrastructure will increasingly shape where investment flows and where growth occurs.”

The report also finds that AI’s influence on real estate opportunities extends beyond data centers. Powered land, battery storage, industrial facilities, workforce housing and distributed computing infrastructure could all benefit from AI-driven growth.