- Electric vehicle ownership is on the rise, with 1.2 million cars sold last 12 months.
- Realtor.com and Kelley Blue Book ranked the highest 20 US cities for EV owners to live.
- Cities that ranked highly have more homes that may accommodate EVs and more public charging ports.
2023 was a banner 12 months for electric vehicles, with a record 1.2 million sold within the United States — about 8% of all cars sold, according to research firm Kelley Blue Book.
But for climate-conscious automotive buyers, the EV lifestyle requires more planning than simply driving off the lot.
To ease range anxiety, EV buyers want to either charge overnight at home or live close to a public charging station. Those aspects make where you purchase a house just as necessary a choice as which model you drive.
Following the explosion in electric-car popularity, home-listings site Realtor.com partnered with Kelley Blue Book, which is owned by automotive-technology firm Cox Automotive, to discover the highest housing markets for EV drivers.
The researchers weighed two aspects. First, the share of homes in a market that advertised their friendliness for electric vehicles, including at-home charging stations. Second, the density of electric vehicles compared to available public charging ports.
Many of the highest markets are — not surprisingly — clustered around tech and startup hubs like San Francisco, Boston, and Salt Lake City. California dominates, with eight metropolitan areas in the highest 20.
Of course, the marketplace for EVs continues to be small. In and around San Jose, a city an hour south of San Francisco that’s home to plenty of tech corporations, only about 5% of listings mentioned electric vehicles — but that was essentially the most of any metro area.
Those figures could rise as homeowners make the most of federal rebates and tax breaks to install at-home electric-car chargers. The Biden administration can also be subsidizing public charging infrastructure.
Some home sellers, though, are already touting their EV-readiness for a competitive edge. A 3-bedroom townhouse in San Jose, available on the market for nearly $1.3 million, boasts a “2-car garage with 220v outlet to charge your electric vehicle.”
“Mirroring the rise in the number of electric vehicles, the share of homes marketing EV-friendly characteristics on Realtor.com is growing over time,” said Danielle Hale, an economist at Realtor.com.
Read on for the highest 20 metros for electric-car owners, as determined by Realtor.com and Kelley Blue Book.
19. Fresno, California
18. Portland, Oregon
17. Portland, Maine
16. Honolulu
15. Riverside, California
14. Oxnard, California
13. Atlanta, Georgia
12. Sacramento, California
11. San Diego, California
10. Denver, Colorado
9. Washington DC
8. Los Angeles
7. Austin
6. Durham, North Carolina
5. Seattle
4. Boston
3. San Francisco
2. Salt Lake City
1. San Jose, California
Credit : www.autoblog.com
