Target vs. Walmart: The Best for Home Prices? [INFOGRAPHIC]

March 17, 2016

Which superstore offers home owners the best returns on home prices? Target is more likely, a new study concludes.

Real estate data firm RealtyTrac researched the effect that living near a Target or Walmart could have on home prices. For its study, RealtyTrac analyzed home values, appreciation, and property taxes in ZIP codes with a Walmart or a Target

Home owners living near a Target tended to see a greater home value appreciation than home owners living near a Walmart. However, home owners near Target also pay more and have higher property taxes, on average, too. Homes near Target stores that sold in 2015 averaged a 27 percent price increase since the sellers purchased them, with an average price gain of $65,569. On the other hand, home owners living near a Walmart saw an appreciation of 16 percent and had an average price gain of $24,900, according to the study.

Home owners living near a Target typically have higher home values too, averaging $307,286 – 72 percent higher than the $178,249 average value of homes near Walmart stores, RealtyTrac found. But home owners near Target stores can expect to pay higher property taxes, too. Home owners living near a Target pay, on average, $7,001 in property taxes – a whopping 123 percent more than home owners near Walmarts, who pay $3,146, on average.

Before you start spotlighting the distance of every Target superstore near your listings, keep the stats in perspective.

“This is not necessarily showing that Targets are the reason that these homes are gaining value,” says RealtyTrac spokesman Daren Blomquist. That said, “Targets are picking neighborhoods where the homes tend to be higher value.”

The findings echo last year's Whole Foods vs. Trader Joe’s debate, when RealtyTrac conducted an analysis pitting these two rival grocery store chains against one another to measure the impact of nearby home values. See which grocery store tilts more favorably to home owners.