LICKING COUNTY, Ohio — Intel’s delay now has many wondering how that could affect the housing market and what that means to home buyers and investors.

What You Need To Know

• Ryan Scheutzow started working in real estate long before anyone ever dreamed that Intel would call Licking County home


• Scheutzow said Intel’s deal initially drove many investors and developers to buy land in the area, expecting a housing boom by this year or next


• Intel’s completion date has been delayed until 2030 or 2031, affecting the housing market

Ryan Scheutzow started working in real estate long before anyone ever dreamed that Intel would call Licking County home.

“The agricultural values we were seeing in the land where it was, you know, maybe $5,000, $10,000 an acre maximum,” he said.

But that all changed in 2022 when the chip manufacturer announced it would build a $28-billion project just northeast of Columbus.

“Where now we’re seeing $50,000 an acre and where it’s already been set up for commercial, you know, $150, up to $300,000 an acre that we’ve seen some companies buying.”

He said Intel’s deal initially drove many investors and developers to buy land in the area, expecting a housing boom by this year or next, but now that the project has been delayed again, that changes things.

“Now, unless there’s a very specific need for that land right now the land values will go back to not what they were before, but probably down, I think, 50% from what, you know, some of the extremes we were seeing in 2020 to 2023,” he said.

But he expects the drop will only be temporary. Scheutzow said the Central Ohio region is continuing to grow with 10,000 new people coming here every year.

“We’re already 5000 housing units behind,” Scheutzow said. “So, when there’s a supply and demand issue, and there’s more demand for housing than there is a supply, the values will always continue to go up.”

As for people who have already bought their homes and are anxious as to what direction the value might go, Scheutzow said he still expects it to rise, just not as quickly as before.

“The expectation is if you have land you want to sell, you have an area you’re hoping to develop or you’re hoping to sell to developers,” he said. “I think, you know, you’ll still do all right, maybe a little slower, maybe not tomorrow. But I think values will continue to climb year over year.”