Buzz
Most people prefer living close to amenities like specialty groceries and coffee spots. A recent Zillow report confirms this, showing that homes near Starbucks, Whole Foods, or Trader Joe's tend to appreciate in value faster.
Zillow studied millions of homes over 17 years, considering factors like location, median home prices, and store opening dates. The full results were published in *Zillow Talk: Rewriting the Rules of Real Estate*, but some insights were also shared in a press release. Here are some noteworthy findings:
Trader Joe’s: Homes near a future Trader Joe’s location appreciated at a rate similar to other homes in the same city. However, once the store opened, the increase was significant. “Two years after a Trader Joe’s opened, homes within a mile of the store saw a 10 percentage point higher appreciation compared to the rest of the city’s homes over the previous year.”
Whole Foods: Surprisingly, homes near a future Whole Foods store appreciated more slowly than other homes before its opening. But as the store’s opening approached, this trend reversed, and the appreciation rate surged. By the end of 2014, homes within a mile of either Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s were valued more than twice as much as the median home across the country.
Starbucks: According to The Guardian, Zillow found that homes near a Starbucks appreciated by 96% between 1997 and 2014, compared to the national average of 65% during the same period.
Of course, one could argue the age-old question of correlation vs. causation. As The Guardian put it: “Which came first, Starbucks or rising real estate prices?” However, Zillow’s Chief Economist, Stan Humphries, made an insightful point about the overall findings.
...stores themselves have become a valuable asset – signaling to homebuyers that the neighborhood is sought-after, possibly on the rise, and definitely improving,” explained Stan Humphries, Zillow Group’s Chief Economist. “In a way, it’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy, with these stores potentially influencing home prices. Even in areas where home values have been lower than in the rest of the city, properties nearby these stores begin to outpace the city’s overall growth once they open.
Either way, the data demonstrates the strong link between grocery stores and home values. For more detailed insights, follow the link below.
Photo by Garry Knight.
