A new Costco could do more than bring bulk groceries and cheap gas to a neighbourhood. In some parts of the US, it may also help push nearby home values higher. Research found that property values within five miles of newly opened Costco warehouses rose by as much as 7.9% in densely populated counties.
But the 'costco effect' is far from universal. A study by Silas Kwok of the Vancouver School of Economics, covering Costco openings from 2002 to 2020, found no significant increase in property values across the overall sample. The gains were concentrated in specific markets, with values rising 7.9% in counties with above-average population density and 5.2% in counties with above-average household income, 2.5 years after a Costco opened.
