Starbucks Drives Home Values

Home owners are always hunting for ways to increase the value of their homes – and interior revamps or full-on remodels may do the trick. Or you could just move near a Starbucks.

starbucksHomes located near a Starbucks coffee shop appreciate at a far faster rate than homes not near a Starbucks, according to experts at real estate database Zillow. Since 1997, houses near a Starbucks appreciated 98 percent while homes farther away appreciated only 65 percent, Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff explains in his new book Zillow Talk.

The reason? One theory is that house hunters may think a Starbucks means the neighborhood is gentrifying. Or maybe it signals that a neighborhood is getting safer, and a safer neighborhood is buyers’ main reason for moving, according to a new survey from analysts at The Demand Institute. A simpler explanation? More than half of home buyers want restaurants and cafes within “a short drive” of their new home, so perhaps Starbucks fits that description.

Whatever the reason, Rascoff makes two things clear: A neighborhood Starbucks isn’t the result of higher home prices; it causes them. And the closer you live to one, the better. After Starbucks opened in a particular neighborhood, nearby homes not only rose in value, but they also appreciated faster the closer they were to the shop. Call it the “Starbucks Effect.”

“Starbucks equates with venti-sized home-value appreciation,” according to a book excerpt on Quartz. “Moreover, Starbucks seems to be fueling – not following – these higher home values.”

So the next time you’ve got an urge to reach for the hammer, just get a latte and house hunt instead. Your home’s value will thank you.