Savings

What Pokemon, Trader Joe's can do for your home sale

Selling your home? Tout the Pokemon

Anna Simmons, of Portland, gets as close as she can to the Victorian duck house in the middle of the pond at Deering Oaks Park while she plays Pokemon Go. The landmark, among other known Portland places, is a 'Poke Stop' in the game.
Brianna Soukup | Portland Press Herald | Getty Images

Real estate may be all about "location, location, location," but some local amenities can influence a home's value more than others.

Talking up your house's position in a good school district is a solid win, for example, but so is mentioning that there's a Trader Joe's nearby. (Amid the "Pokemon Go" craze, some sellers are even trying to garner interest by pointing out in their listings the home's proximity to in-game landmarks.)

"It's important to understand what the neighborhood is like, in addition to the house," said Lynnette Bruno, a vice president at Trulia.com.

It's unclear whether particular amenities drive up home prices or those businesses are drawn to already up-and-coming neighborhoods. But if one of these four amenities is nearby, consider highlighting it in your listing.

— By CNBC's Kelli B. Grant
Posted 26 July 2016

Sports stadiums

Petco Park in San Diego, California.
Getty Images

It's not a home run, but living near a sports stadium might boost your house's value. A 2016 Trulia analysis found that nearly two-thirds of neighborhoods around National Football League stadiums have higher housing values than those in nonstadium neighborhoods; another study this year from the site determined homes near Major League Baseball parks had values 15 percent higher than the metro average.

Not all homeowners score, however. None of the five new football stadiums that have opened in the past 10 years has had a noticeable impact on home values within a two-mile radius, Trulia found. In some markets, homes near sports stadiums have lower values – in Kansas City, for example, homes near the Kansas City Royals stadium are worth 51.6 percent less compared to the overall metro.

Specialty grocers

Shoppers enjoy the grand opening of a Trader Joe's in Pinecrest, Florida.
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Living near a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods can be healthy for your home's value. After such a store opens, homes within a mile of either store tend to appreciate more quickly than others in the area, according to a 2016 Zillow report looking at data from 2007 to 2014. By 2014, it found, the median value of nearby homes was twice that of the median home in the rest of the country.

Properties near a Trader Joe's tend to appreciate faster. Homeowners near a Trader Joe's have seen an average 40 percent increase in value, versus 34 percent for those near a Whole Foods, according to a 2015 RealtyTrac analysis.

Concert venues

Delacorte Theater in Central Park, New York.
Robert Holmes | Corbis | Getty Images

An outdoor amphitheater within walking distance may be music to buyers' ears — a 2016 Realtor.com study found 20 markets where homes within a mile of such a venue carried at least a 9 percent premium. The biggest bump could be found near the Capital City Amphitheater in Tallahassee, Florida., where nearby homes are 78 percent pricier than others in the ZIP code.

Be aware that while some buyers see local amenities like a concert hall or airport as a convenience, others see it as a potential nuisance, said Sam DeBianchi, a housing expert with Realtor.com. Play up the positives, and make mention of any noise mitigation projects you've undertaken.

"It's a bit of a Catch-22," she said. "You want to be in the middle of the action, but not in the middle of the noise."

Superstores

A Target store is seen in Miami.
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Bargain hunters may be able to appreciate the value of living near a superstore. Among homeowners who sold in 2015, those near a Target saw their homes appreciate an average 27 percent since purchasing, compared to average appreciation nationwide of 22 percent, according to a 2016 RealtyTrac analysis.

But most shoppers know to look for the fine print, and there's plenty here. Homeowners near a Walmart saw slower-than-average appreciation, of just 16 percent. RealtyTrac also found that homeowners near a Target also paid property taxes averaging $7,001 – 63 percent more than the national average, and 123 percent more than what homeowners near a Walmart paid.