Study: Legal cannabis boosts home values

[July 21, 2021]  By Cole Lauterbach

(The Center Square) – Home values got a boost in states that allow recreational cannabis use.

A new report from Clever Real Estate found states that had legalized recreational cannabis saw home prices increase at higher rates than states that didn’t.

“Between April 2017 and April 2021, property values rose $17,113 more in states where recreational marijuana is legal, compared to states where marijuana is illegal or limited to medicinal use,” according to the report.

Thirty-six states and Washington D.C. have legalized cannabis for recreational use or medicinal use.

“In the past four years, Illinois homeowners saw property values rise by an average value of $18,000,” said Michelle Delgado, a researcher with Clever. “Legalized marijuana also brought in $52.7 million in new tax revenue.”

That revenue was split to several different uses.

“Marijuana tax revenue in Illinois pays for the administrative costs associated with legalization,” Delgado said. “Leftover funds are then split between criminal justice reform programs, substance abuse programs as well as statewide and general tax funds.”

Illinois has 99 dispensaries, 94 of which sell recreational cannabis.
 

However, the last year saw property values rise in nearly every state in the nation. Delgado said they controlled for other factors like the recent home value spikes.

“Our study actually controlled for other factors such as population or past home values to isolate the impact of marijuana legalization,” she said.

Critics of recreational cannabis say it leads to more illicit drug use and increases crime but studies have shown both phenomena had yet to materialize in states that had legalized recreational marijuana early on.