You can renovate your home to the nines, but if the environment and neighborhood outside of your home is economically depressed, crime ridden, and not well connected by public transportation or highway infrastructure - it's never going to appreciate to it's best ability.

When scouting out new development opportunities or homes, it's important to learn about what's outside. Buyers usually consider the usual suspects: square footage, number of bedrooms, amount of sunlight, but what about your "neighborhood amenities"?

According to Money.com, "Coffee houses emerged early on as a big predictor of future home value. Within a quarter mile, close enough to smell the coffee brewing, that ring appreciates faster than rings further out" Some micro-economists, myself included, call this the "STARBUCKS EFFECT". 

According to Zillow, Over a 17 year tabulation , leading up to 2014, homes adjacent to the local Starbucks almost doubled in value, up by 96%. Those further out appreciated by 65% over the same period.

And apparently not all coffee shops are created equal. Zillow researchers compared homes near Starbucks locations to those near Dunkin Donuts. In fact, Dunkin Donuts-adjacent properties also outperformed the wider market, rising 80% over 17 years, but they lagged those in the shadow of Starbucks. To see the Starbucks Effect on some of the home values across the country, see here.

As for me, growing up in a household where the smell of coffee brewed though an old fashioned espresso pot,  my coffee is better served at home just the way I like it - short with the sinking of one sugar packet to the bottom of a demitasse cup.  When I do crave a scene, my go to coffee shops are Cerasella in Astoria and Pisellino in the West Village. Both have a very different ambiance, Cerasella in particular with a more authentic menu, Italian hospitality, and the rawness of the N train running over the tracks above. I suggest a cappuccino and a cornetto con marmellata - boom, it all takes me back to an Italian summer.  As for Bar Pisellino, a more commercialized feel with an interior as grandiose as a french caffe or Milano Business coffee hour.  Bottom line, coffee shops are a great investment in a neighborhood, increase property value indirectly and hey - I'll take a small coffee shop over a Starbucks any day!

P.S. Starbucks isn't the only appreciation booster - have you heard of the " Whole Foods Effect". Researchers have found other amenities can have an even more powerful effect on home values. See more here

RESOURCES:

1)https://money.com/starbucks-coffee-shop-home-prices/#:~:text=How%20much%20faster%3F,coffee%20shops%20are%20created%20equal.

2) https://www.zillow.com/blog/starbucks-home-values-170734/