Marijuana Legalization Affects Real Estate: Here’s How

Industry publications cannot stop talking about marijuana legalization and its impact on the real estate market. And when we say that we don’t just mean marijuana news outlets.

The mainstream business and investing communities have really taken notice of legalization, and the conversation is building as new policies form nationwide. Experts and investors now believe they can project what will happen to the real estate market once a state passes a medical or adult-use legalization measure. 

Here’s what we know so far about what happens to real estate values in emerging legal cannabis markets. 

Heavy Competition

If you know about the licensing process for cannabis companies, then you probably know there are a ton of zoning regulations involved. These can vary by state and even by city, but they usually limit dispensaries and manufacturers to extremely limited areas of town. The jist of the rules is that policymakers don’t want cannabis to be cultivated, processed or sold near schools and parks, residential zones and other sensitive areas. 

That being said, finding an appropriate operations site can be stiff competition for license applicants. This allows property owners in industrial and other ideal zones to ask a premium price or rent for their cannabis-friendly real estate, which in turn bumps up prices close by.

Exodus

Something else to consider about new legal cannabis markets is that many people from out-of-state will soon be clamoring to move there. Be they “medical refugees” who can’t access cannabis in their home state, budding entrepreneurs and job seekers following the opportunity, or enthusiasts who would simply rather enjoy their hobby in peace, they’re all looking to find a place to live. 

More demand for real estate always drives prices up. The cannabis movement just happens to be one of the strongest uniting movements driving visibly huge demand for real estate.

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Increasing the value of real estate is only one of hundreds of ways that cannabis legalization stimulates our economy. Regulated cannabis markets create jobs and livelihoods for thousands of people, provide affordable and effective medicine to our most vulnerable and provide a healthier way for people of legal age to recreate and enjoy their lives.

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