Whole Foods expected to increase property values of nearby homes

El Paso’s first Whole Foods Market set a new mark for opening day sales for the 35 stores in the company’s Rocky Mountain region Wednesday.

Local business leaders told ABC-7 the Whole Foods influence will be felt far beyond the cash register.

Studies have found upscale grocery stores like Whole Foods can also increase property values and a realtor ABC-7 spoke with said the new one on Mesa Street is already having an effect on the area.

“It’s an awesome store and it’s a store that lots of people would like to live near,” said Barry Karch of “The Real Estate Power Houses,” who has more than three decades experience in the Borderland.

“I was talking to some of the realtors actually yesterday and they were telling me that they’ve already seen demand for the Coronado Town Homes shooting up. A lot more people inquiring about them and asking about it,” Karch said.

The Coronado Town Homes are located right behind the new Whole Foods, which had more than 6,000 transactions on opening day.

“I think the homes in the immediate vicinity will appreciate in value,” Karch said. “There’s a lot of people that would like to be able to walk to the store, have it within walking distance or a very short drive.”

“It makes areas more attractive to live in,” added Mark Heins, El Paso Whole Foods team leader.

Heins said in addition to a big first day, he’s had to hire more than 200 employees, another 20 or so just this week.

“When the City gets behind the community and developers start to develop that brings things to El Paso,” Heins said, “This is what can happen and it will just get better from here.”

One success story feeds another. La Madeleine cafe’ set sales records at The Fountains when it opened a couple of years ago. El Paso’s second location is set to open next week, right next to Whole Foods.

When asked what she thought of home values increasing because of the addition of an upscale grocery store, Whole Foods shopper Deborah Noecker laughed and replied: “I’m a homeowner in Northeast and I would appreciate them coming out there. We have lot of space and a lot of money.”

According to real estate marketplace Zillow, between 1997 and 2014 homes near a Whole Foods were consistently worth more than the median U.S. home.

ABC-7 asked Heins how soon a second location could come to the East Side or Northeast. He said chances are “as good as ever at the moment.”