We all know the factors that make your home more valuable - views, updated kitchen, proximity to the ocean or a lake (or the freeway, on the downside). But, distance from a Walmart as a predictor of home values?

Apparently so. CNNMoney has outlined a new study by economists Devin Pope at the University of Chicago and Jaren Pope at Brigham Young University that reveals 2 new Walmart stores may actually improve home prices near the store.

The report analyzed over 600,000 housing transactions nearby 159 new Walmart stores, which showed that homes within a half mile of a new store saw prices increase between 2.0 and 3.0 percent, an average of $7,000 in the two and a half years after a new Walmart store opened. Homes between a half mile and one mile away experienced price increases between 1.0 and 2.0 percent, an average of $4,000. The report notes that over one mile away, and the increases were “statistically insignificant.”

The report analyzed the pre-housing crash era, looking at transactions between 2001 and 2006, but did not include rural areas where housing data was unavailable, so further studies are definitely merited.

DataQuick's property research tools provide valuation reports as well as business, school and demographic reports. Maybe we need to add “proximity to Walmart” into the valuation equation? How about a Walmart's in a 5-mile radius report?

What do you think? Is the distance from a Walmart really a factor in determining the value of a property, or just a coincidence?