O Costco, Where Art Thou Going? A Firm’s Intra-City Relocation Effects on House Prices

We examine the impact of Costco Wholesale’s intra-city relocation on house prices in the Fresno-Clovis area, California, in 2019. Using a spatial Difference-in-Differences method, we analyze housing transactions within 2 miles of Costco’s old and new locations before and after the relocation, relative to a control area unaffected by the move. To capture the effects of sequential information releases on real estate prices, we divide the event timeline into assessment, construction, and post-relocation periods. We find that Costco’s relocation has had a significant impact on house prices. We document an 8%–9% increase in house prices located near the old Costco location, while no significant price impact is observed for properties near the new Costco location. Our findings suggest that house prices increased progressively during the assessment, construction, and post-relocation periods, indicating that real estate markets incorporate information as it becomes publicly available.