Friday, June 1, 2012

When Walmart Comes to Town: Always Low Housing Prices? Always?

http://papers.nber.org/papers/w18111
Abstract: Walmart often faces strong local opposition when trying to build a new store. Opponents often claim that Walmart lowers nearby housing prices. In this study we use over one million housing transactions located near 159 Walmarts that opened between 2000 and 2006 to test if the opening of a Walmart does indeed lower housing prices. Using a difference-in-differences specification, our estimates suggest that a new Walmart store actually increases housing prices by between 2 and 3 percent (about $7,000) for houses located within 0.5 miles of the store and by 1 to 2 percent (about $4,000) for houses located between 0.5 and 1 mile.

by Devin G. Pope and Jaren C. Pope
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) www.NBER.org
Working Paper No. 18111; Issued in May 2012

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