The proposed opening of a new Walmart in Encinitas was met with mixed reaction from the local community. But an interesting study just released shows that the opening of a new store can actually raise home sale prices and be beneficial to the real estate market in cities like Encinitas.
The National Bureau of Economic Research conducted a study in which they examined home sale prices 2 1/2 years before the opening of a Walmart and compared them with home sale prices 2 1/2 years after the Walmart opened. The researchers looked at neighborhoods surrounding 159 Walmarts that opened from 2000-2006. They found that home sales prices increased after the store opened for business. The opening of the Walmart in Encinitas this year means that your home’s value will increase upon the opening of this large retail chain.
If your Encinitas home is located within a half-mile radius of Walmart, you can expect an increase of two to three percent on your home sales price. That’s an avergage of $7000! An Encinitas home located a half-mile to a mile away would increase your home sales price about one to two percent, or about $4000.
The study noted that the home sale price increases came mostly from easy access to shopping as opposed to new contruction or building larger homes.
