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Americans Aren’t Moving Toward Data Centers, Data Centers Are Coming to Them, Realtor.com® Report Finds

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New facilities are pushing into lower-density, lower-income communities farther from major cities, but home values near newly activated data centers have so far moved in line with similar neighborhoods

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A new report from Realtor.com® finds that the American home-sale market’s growing proximity to data centers is being driven by where the industry chooses to build, not by any behavioral shift among homebuyers. The share of U.S. home sales within five miles of a large (50-megawatt or larger) data center has more than doubled since 2018, rising from 0.67% to roughly 1.5% so far in 2026, as the number of large facilities operating nationwide grew more than sevenfold, from 49 to 347. Based on the full construction pipeline through 2027, that share is projected to approach 2.3% of all U.S. home sales.

The report, which draws on millions of home sales, listings and property tax records alongside facility-level data center insights from Aterio, also finds that the newest wave of large data centers is landing farther from cities, in less densely populated areas, and increasingly in communities with below-median household incomes — a reversal from the pattern that defined the early 2020s AI buildout.

“The data center buildout has moved fast and it is raising policy, community, and housing-market questions as it spreads and accelerates,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist, Realtor.com®. “Our analysis so far offers some reassurance: in the communities we studied, a new data center opening nearby wasn’t associated with meaningfully higher or lower home values than similar neighborhoods that didn’t get one. But the facilities coming online next are bigger, more remote and landing in communities with less experience managing an industrial neighbor, so that track record may not hold as a guide to what comes next.”

The Growth Is Geographic, Not Behavioral

To isolate what is driving more Americans to live near large data centers, the report models what would have happened had the data center industry stopped building in 2018. Under that scenario, the share of home sales near a large data center would sit at roughly 0.6% today, below where the market actually stands. The entire increase, in other words, traces back to facilities that didn’t exist in 2018 opening in new communities, not to more home-sale activity in neighborhoods that already had one. Housing stock turnover in ZIP codes near large data centers has tracked essentially the same as broader metro areas throughout the period, with the gap never exceeding 0.2 percentage points.

New Neighbors, Farther From the City

The physical footprint of the industry has expanded alongside its power footprint. In 2015, just 12 U.S. ZIP codes contained a large data center; by June 2026 that had grown to 108, and is on pace to reach 125 by year’s end. The land those facilities are built on looks increasingly different, too. The median large data center opening in 2026 is surrounded by roughly 70% fewer residential housing units per square mile than the median 2017 facility, and the typical 2027 opening will sit about 34 miles from its nearest major city center, 26% farther than the 2026 median of 27 miles.

Household income patterns near new data centers have shifted as well. ZIP codes receiving new large facilities ran well above the national median income from 2020 through 2023, peaking 24.7% above the median in 2023 as hyperscale investment concentrated in affluent Northern Virginia suburbs. Large data centers activated in 2026 sit in ZIP codes 2.1% below the national median income, and the 2027 construction pipeline points to communities 5.7% below the median.

“The places absorbing this next wave of data centers look different from the places that absorbed the last one,” said Glen Morgenstern, economist intern at Realtor.com®. “They tend to be lower-income, lower-density and farther from a city center, which usually also means fewer resources on hand — fewer attorneys, less organized civic engagement, and housing markets that react more slowly to new information. That doesn’t tell us those communities will be worse off, but it does mean they may be less equipped to respond if a facility turns out to be a difficult neighbor.”

Home Values Hold Steady, Listings Stay Plentiful

To test whether a large data center opening nearby affects home prices, the report compared 43 ZIP codes that gained a large data center between 2019 and 2025 against similar ZIP codes matched on pre-opening price levels and population density. In the two years following activation, home values in data center neighborhoods moved in line with their matched comparisons, with no gains or losses large enough to represent a meaningful difference. Listing prices showed a similar pattern: a small initial bump around the facility’s opening that faded within two years.

Housing inventory told a different story. Three years after a large data center opened, those ZIP codes retained 66% of their pre-opening active for-sale listings, compared with 43% for matched neighborhoods without a data center. New construction near data centers ran above the metro average in the years surrounding a facility’s opening but slipped slightly below that average by the third year.

Property tax rates near large data centers were lower than in comparison communities both before and after a facility’s arrival, a gap the report attributes to where data centers tend to be sited rather than to the facilities themselves. Effective residential tax rates near data centers ticked up modestly relative to their own pre-opening baseline over five years, while the comparison group’s rates drifted down relative to theirs — though the report cautions that county- and jurisdiction-level differences make the cause of that pattern difficult to isolate.

 As Data Centers Grow, So Do Concerns Over Power and Water

The average large data center that opened in 2018 drew about 24 megawatts of power; by 2026 that figure had climbed to 60 megawatts, meaning more generators, more cooling infrastructure and more round-the-clock truck traffic per facility. Electricity and water use are also emerging as more visible pressure points, particularly in Sun Belt markets already navigating water scarcity, and rising utility bills tied to data center demand have already drawn public attention in states including Georgia and Virginia.

In March 2026, seven major AI companies signed a Ratepayer Protection Pledge committing to cover the cost of new power supply and grid infrastructure rather than pass it on to residential customers, a commitment that has since expanded to companies representing 80% of U.S. power delivery, though it remains voluntary. The Realtor.com® report points to these dynamics, along with the industry’s shift into lower-density, lower-income and more remote communities, as reasons the modest track record on home values documented so far may be harder to sustain as the buildout continues.

Large Data Center Openings and ZIP Household Income by Activation Year

Activation Year

New Large Data Centers

Median Data Center ZIP Income
vs. National Median

2020

24

+22.3 %

2021

22

+15.5 %

2022

20

+14.1 %

2023

34

+24.7 %

2024

58

+7.4 %

2025

83

+11.0 %

2026

178

-2.1 %

2027*

212

-5.7 %

*2027 reflects the construction pipeline. 2026 includes active and construction-stage sites with estimated 2026 activation dates. Recent incomes are based on 2024 American Community Survey estimates; each ZIP code is weighted equally regardless of population size.

Methodology

Data center inventory comes from Aterio’s facility-level database as of June 30, 2026, covering U.S. facilities with at least 50 megawatts of selected power capacity and a known ZIP code; the main analyses use active facilities only, while 2026 and 2027 community-income comparisons also include construction-stage facilities. Residential proximity is measured as the straight-line distance from each home sale or listing to the nearest large data center, using Aterio facility coordinates and Realtor.com deed and listing records; sales within five miles are classified as near. The home-price event study covers 43 ZIP codes that received a large data center between 2019 and 2025, matched to comparison ZIP codes on pre-activation price level and population density, drawn from the same metro area in most cases and from the broader state for five ZIP codes in smaller markets, using Realtor.com deed records in states that publicly disclose sale prices (Texas and 11 other non-disclosure states are excluded). The property tax event study compares effective residential tax rates within three miles of a large data center against properties 10 to 25 miles away in the same state, using Realtor.com property records and activations between 2017 and 2023. The inventory event study uses annual June snapshots of active listings matched on pre-period list price, days on market and metro area. Community income figures use year-matched American Community Survey 5-year estimates and are compared against the national median household income from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, retrieved via FRED.

About Realtor.com®

For over 30 years, Realtor.com® has connected buyers, sellers, and renters with trusted insights, professional guidance and powerful tools to help them find their perfect home. Recognized as the No. 1 real estate site REALTOR® agents recommend, Realtor.com® delivers consumer connections and a robust suite of marketing tools to support business growth. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc.

Media Contact: Mallory Micetich, press@realtor.com

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/americans-arent-moving-toward-data-centers-data-centers-are-coming-to-them-realtorcom-report-finds-302847528.html

SOURCE Realtor.com

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Cetera Welcomes Former Commonwealth Advisors Jim Tucker, Patrick Bria and Their Team Overseeing Approximately $420 Million in AUA

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After building their businesses over two decades, the advisors chose Cetera’s Summit community for its high-touch service, flexibility and commitment to helping advisors operate their way

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cetera welcomes financial advisors Jim Tucker, CFP®, CRPS®, and Patrick Bria, and the Tucker Bria Wealth Strategies team overseeing approximately $420 million in AUA1. Tucker Bria Wealth Strategies joined Cetera through its Summit Financial Networks2 community. Based in Durham, North Carolina, co-founders Tucker and Bria have built their practice together since 2013. The two have been friends since their teenage years in Pittsburgh, and later were teammates on Duke University’s varsity swim team.

Tucker Bria Wealth Strategies – a name built around the firm’s belief that “Life alters wealth®” – provides individualized financial planning and wealth management to individuals and families navigating life’s transitions, from wealth creation and preservation to windfalls such as inheritances and business sales.

The move to Cetera follows more than a decade at Commonwealth Financial Network, a firm Tucker and Bria deliberately chose for its culture of experienced advisors and personalized support. When LPL announced its acquisition of Commonwealth, the partners launched a monthslong search for a new financial services partner, including traditional broker-dealers and RIA models.

Keeping continuity for clients, some of whom have been with the practice since its inception, was central to their search. With Cetera, the firm could maintain its existing custodian, Fidelity’s NFS. Another key decision point was Cetera’s flexibility, which allowed Tucker Bria to continue using third-party technology that had become integral to their client service model during their years at Commonwealth.

Ultimately, the firm wanted access to a well-established and scaled infrastructure, products, services and AI-powered growth resources – tools designed to augment how advisors already work, not change how they operate – without asking the practice to give up how it runs its business.

“We were deliberate about choosing Commonwealth, and we were just as deliberate about where we went next. We wanted a partner strong enough to provide the compliance, technology and back-office support we didn’t want to build ourselves, but flexible enough to let us keep running our business exactly the way we always have,” Tucker said. “Summit has a clear reason for being, the same way our previous firm did, and that mattered to us as much as anything else.”

The firm’s high-touch approach to client service – centered on close, ongoing relationships rather than scale, with regularly scheduled client meetings and financial planning built around each family’s specific circumstances – was also at the forefront of their decision-making process.

“We tell our team to love our clients, not because of what they’ve entrusted to us, but because that’s simply the standard we hold ourselves to,” Bria said. “Our next-gen advisors are in the room with clients from day one, learning the relationships, not just the technical side of the job. Because of this, our clients know their advisor team is going to be in place for the next 30-plus years.”

Tucker Bria’s next generation – including Wealth Advisors Josh Polidori, CFP®, CPFA®; Financial Planning Associate Chris Bleeker; and Financial Planning Associate Taylor Clement, CFP® – already serves as the primary point of contact for many of the firm’s second- and third-generation clients.

Tucker is also the author of Family, Legacy, Wealth: How to Nurture and Grow Your Family Orchard, a book designed to help families define and pass on their legacy, one that goes beyond money.

Welcoming the Tucker Bria team, Cetera Advisor Channel Leader Tom Halloran said: “Jim and Pat have spent decades building something special together that grew into a client-centered practice with the kind of robust next-gen advisor strategy that doesn’t happen by accident. We’re thrilled to welcome Jim, Pat and their team to Cetera, and we’re eager to help them expand their legacy for many years to come.”

About Cetera

Cetera is the premier financial advisor Wealth Hub, empowering independent advisors and institutions with personalized support, flexible affiliation models, and end-to-end growth solutions. Home to approximately 12,000 financial professionals and institutions, Cetera’s multi-channel ecosystem enables financial professionals to grow, scale or transition their businesses on their own terms.

Unlike traditional IBDs, Cetera offers true choice – blending modern technology, integrated wealth solutions, and a community-driven culture. Cetera’s five-channel model and commitment to long-term advisor value provide a scalable blueprint for consistent, repeatable growth.

As of March 31, 2026, Cetera firms manage approximately $630 billion in assets under administration and $296 billion in assets under management. Its Voice of the Customer program has captured nearly 50,000 advisor reviews, with more than 43,000 five-star ratings, giving Cetera a 4.7 out of 5 satisfaction score.

Learn more at www.cetera.com and follow Cetera on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and X.

Cetera is a network of independent retail firms, including those that are members of FINRA/SIPC: Cetera Advisors LLC; Cetera Wealth Services, LLC (formerly known as Cetera Advisor Networks); Cetera Investment Services LLC (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions or Cetera Investors); and Cetera Financial Specialists LLC. Entities registered as investment advisers with the Securities and Exchange Commission include Cetera Investment Management LLC and Cetera Investment Advisers LLC. Cetera’s principal office is located at 655 W. Broadway, 11th Floor, San Diego, CA 92101.

Avantax Planning Partners, Inc., is an SEC registered investment adviser within the Aretec Group, Inc. (dba Cetera Holdings, an affiliate of CFG). All the referenced entities are under common ownership.

Cetera exclusively provides investment products and services through its representatives. Although Cetera does not provide tax or legal advice, or supervise tax, accounting or legal services, Cetera representatives may offer these services through their independent outside businesses. This information is not intended as tax or legal advice.

1Value approximated based on information provided to Cetera for asset holdings as of April 30, 2026.

2Summit Financial Networks is a region of Cetera Wealth Services, LLC. Securities offered through Cetera Wealth Services, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cetera Investment Advisers LLC, a registered investment adviser. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity.

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SOURCE Cetera Financial Group

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Extra Space Storage CEO Joe Margolis Named One of Glassdoor’s Best CEOs of 2026

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SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Extra Space Storage Inc. (NYSE: EXR) today announced that CEO Joe Margolis has been named a 2026 Glassdoor Best CEOs Award recipient. The award recognizes chief executives whose leadership has earned high marks directly from employees.

Unlike many workplace honors, the Glassdoor award does not include a self-nomination process. Winners are determined solely through voluntary, anonymous reviews submitted by current and former employees. Margolis ranked No. 25 among the chief executives recognized, based on reviews submitted between May 16, 2025, and May 16, 2026. Additional details about the award methodology are available on Glassdoor’s awards website.

“This recognition belongs to our entire team and reflects the extraordinary culture we have built together at Extra Space,” Margolis said. “Every team member plays an important role in strengthening our culture and living our core values of Excellence, Teamwork, Innovation, Integrity and Passion. I am grateful to work alongside such talented people who make Extra Space an exceptional place to work and position us for a bright future.”

To learn more about working at Extra Space and explore current career opportunities, visit careers.extraspace.com. Extra Space has received multiple honors recognizing its workplace and company culture, see the full list here.

About Extra Space Storage Inc.

Extra Space Storage Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and a member of the S&P 500. As of June 30, 2026, the Company owned and/or operated 4,410 self-storage stores in 42 states and Washington, D.C. The Company’s stores comprise approximately 3.0 million units and approximately 341.0 million square feet of rentable space operating under the Extra Space brand. The Company offers customers a wide selection of conveniently located and secure storage units across the country, including boat storage, RV storage and business storage. It is the largest operator of self-storage properties in the United States.

About Glassdoor

Glassdoor is transforming how people find jobs and companies they love by providing greater workplace transparency. Professionals use Glassdoor to research company ratings, reviews, salaries and more across millions of employers, and to participate in candid workplace conversations. Companies use Glassdoor to post jobs and attract talent through employer-branding and employee-insights products. Glassdoor is part of Indeed, a subsidiary of Recruit Holdings and a global leader in human resources technology and business solutions.

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SOURCE Extra Space Storage, Inc.

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FinThrive’s AI-Powered Fusion® Platform Earns Gold Stevie® Award for Healthcare Technology Innovation

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PLANO, Texas, Aug. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — FinThrive, Inc., a leading healthcare revenue management software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider, today announced it has won a Gold Stevie® Award in the Technical Innovation of the Year – Hospitals & Health Systems category in the 2026 Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence.

The Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of individuals, teams, and organizations shaping the future of technology across all industry sectors.

For more than 20 years, the Stevie Awards have been touted as the world’s premier business awards – the newest program sets a global benchmark for technology achievement.

The award recognizes FinThrive Fusion®, the company’s first‑of‑its‑kind AI‑powered data intelligence platform designed to unify and optimize the entire healthcare revenue cycle, enabling predictive insights, intelligent automation and autonomous workflows. By transforming disconnected healthcare data into intelligence, Fusion helps organizations prevent denials, billing errors and revenue leakage.

“Innovation matters only when it delivers meaningful outcomes for healthcare providers,” said Hemant Goel, President and CEO, FinThrive. “We’re honored that the Stevie Awards recognized FinThrive Fusion and our commitment to helping hospitals and health systems harness AI and connected data to strengthen financial performance, improve operational efficiency and better serve patients.”

Today, FinThrive supports healthcare organizations in all 50 states, processes more than 200 million claims annually and helps manage more than $1.4 trillion in healthcare revenue. Three out of five U.S. hospitals and health systems rely on FinThrive solutions to navigate today’s complex reimbursement environment.

More than 180 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year’s honorees.

About FinThrive 

FinThrive is a healthcare revenue cycle management (RCM) technology company that helps healthcare organizations maximize revenue, reduce costs and accelerate cash flow through a unified, intelligent platform. At the core is FinThrive Fusion, the industry’s first data intelligence platform built specifically for healthcare revenue operations. Powered by Fusion, FinThrive’s AI transforms complex, manual revenue cycle tasks into streamlined, autonomous workflows. It unifies data across the enterprise while supporting regulatory compliance. As one of the most advanced SaaS platforms in healthcare, FinThrive delivers a connected, holistic approach to revenue optimization. FinThrive’s solutions span patient access, charge integrity, claims and contract management, insurance discovery, automation, analytics and education, enabling organizations to manage performance across the front, middle and back office with greater visibility and control. Learn more at FinThrive.com.

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SOURCE FinThrive, Inc.

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