The NWIMBY Effect (No Wal~Mart In My Backyard): Big Box Stores and Residential Property Values

Daniel K.N. Johnson, Kristina M. Lybecker, Nicole Gurley, Alex Stiller-Shulman and Stephen Fischer

Recent Wal-Mart openings have been accompanied by public demonstrations against the company, asserting that it is deleterious to residential property values. This study empirically evaluates that claim, analyzing the spatial correlation between Wal-Mart locations and residential property values, comparing Wal-Mart with other big-box retailers while controlling for other aspects of a home’s value. Market value may represent a trade-off between price and patience, so we perform a similar analysis using a property’s days on the market. We interpret the resulting effects in two ways, from both the resident’s and retailer’s point of view, casting new light on the NWIMBY effect.

DOI : https://doi.org/10.21102/jbpr.2016.12.112.04