In addition to triple ginger snaps, orange chicken and wild mushroom & black truffle flatbread, here’s another reason to like Trader Joe’s: It might drive up property values.
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The U.S. housing market analysis firm conducted a study of U.S. ZIP codes, and found that homes near Trader’s Joe’s saw better home value appreciation over the years, although such properties also have to pay higher property taxes on average.
Trader Joe’s says its employees are “traders on the culinary seas” and calls them crew members. It will be Trader Joe’s seventh store in South Florida and the 16 in the state.
The study looked at at home values and property taxes for 1.7 million homes, condos and co-ops in 188 zip codes with at least one Whole Foods store (and no Trader Joe’s stores) and 2.3 million homes, condos and co-ops in 242 zip codes with at least one Trader Joe’s store (and no Whole Foods stores).
“My niece visited for three months from L.A., and she practically lived at Trader Joe’s”, Brazier says. According to RealtyTrac, average home value near a Trader Joe’s is $592,339, which is 5 percent more than the $561,840 average value for homes near a Whole Foods. Both of these averages are more than twice the average value of homes across all zip codes nationwide: $262,068, Realty Trac said.
Steve Kirn, an expert on retailing, was surprised by the RealtyTrac findings, especially since Trader Joe’s is less expensive than Whole Foods with its vast, emporiumlike stores.
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When it comes to home value appreciation, bargain-priced grocery chain Trader Joe’s has more of a halo effect than Whole Foods Market.
