In 2023, according the National Association of Realtors, the number of existing homes that were sold was just over four million, with an average sales price of $389,300. One of the steps in preparing your home for sale is to write a real estate description in which you outline the key features of your home and the neighborhood in which it is located. Writing for the website Orchard.com, Allaire Conte notes, “A good, effective real estate listing description can attract the right buyers and generate interest in the property. It only makes sense that a poor description can do the opposite, scaring away potential buyers and leaving the property sitting on the market with no offers”. According to Dorothy O’Donnell and Kelsey Morrison, who write for the website Homelight.com, “The listing description is your chance to emphasize the best aspects of both your home and the surrounding area, whether you have access to quality schools or are walking distance from the historic district with boutiques and microbreweries. Access to breweries? Do people really mention those as a neighborhood amenity when listing their home for sale? Apparently they do, indicating that mentioning them can make a home more attractive to potential buyers.
That people would mention proximity to breweries in their home listings does not surprise me. I have been studying the craft brewing industry for over ten years now; particularly the impact of breweries on neighborhoods and communities. As a result of this research, and the research of others, I have arrived at the conclusion that craft breweries are neighborhood assets and that living close to one is a good thing. This is primarily because craft breweries serve as neighborhood Third Places, where friends and family can gather for a pint of locally brewed IPA while enjoying each other’s company. Many craft breweries are also child and dog friendly, making them places where young families are welcome.
Some of the research I have conducted has focused on the city of Charlotte, NC. Charlotte has a vibrant craft brewing, with over eighty breweries dotted across the metropolitan area. Two neighborhoods which have attracted a disproportionate number of craft breweries are the post-industrial districts of South End (south-west of downtown) and NoDa (north-east of downtown). My research on Charlotte has been carried out in collaboration with my colleague Isabelle Nilsson, a faculty member at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. In a paper I published with Isabelle in 2019, we were able to isolate the impact of being in close proximity to a craft brewery on residential real estate valued. In that research, we determined that single-family homes and condominiums within a half mile of a craft brewery enjoyed an increase in value of 9.2% and 3.2% respectively, as a result of this proximity. This suggests that many homeowners appreciate being within walking distance of a craft brewery.
In my most recent research with Isabelle, we compared 1,088 home listings that mentioned breweries with the same number of randomly selected home listings that did not mention breweries. As with our previous research, all the homes were in Charlotte, NC. An example of a home listing included in our study is shown below.
“When location is key, you can’t get much better than this! 5 minutes from both NoDa & Plaza Midwood shopping, restaurants, and breweries. This 1920’s bungalow is full of charm & nestled in the Villa Heights community. Original hardwoods throughout portions of the home. Claw foot tub in the renovated bathroom. Fenced in back yard with mature trees. Smart features throughout the home include Ecobee thermostat & Alexa controlled lights/switches. Several projects in the home are unfinished & some updates are still needed, but with some TLC, you could have the cutest house on the block. Given the recent sales in the neighborhood, this would also be perfect for an investor looking to completely renovate for a flip. Home is being sold as is with no repairs to be made. HVAC is a 2021 unit & under warranty.”
According to a 2019 report by the National Association of Realtors, 93% of recent homebuyers found online websites as the most useful source of information about prospective homes. Of buyers who used the internet while searching for a home, 85% found detailed information about properties for sale very useful. This suggests that having a well-written, accurate, and appealing home listing is important in attracting potential buyers. The website Homes.com includes walkability and proximity to amenities (parks, gyms, restaurants etc.) as two of a number of neighborhood factors to consider when purchasing a home.
In our most recent research, Isabelle and I were particularly interested in identifying the types of neighborhood in which craft breweries were being listed as a neighborhood amenity by home sellers. Our findings showed that homes mentioning breweries were generally higher priced and sold more quickly than the average home in the Charlotte metropolitan area. We also discovered that, in home listings, breweries were commonly mentioned in conjunction with other neighborhood amenities such as restaurants, coffee shops, and parks. This suggests that craft breweries tend to be located in amenity-rich neighborhoods and are being mentioned as part of a broader package of amenities. The term ‘walkable’ is also frequently mentioned in listings mentioning breweries. This suggests that breweries tend to be in walkable neighborhoods which, in all likelihood, have a high Walk Score. Indeed, the NoDa neighborhood has a Walk Score of 70, making it a “very walkable” neighborhood, where “most errands can be accomplished on foot”. Another word often mentioned is ‘local’. This may suggest geographic proximity and/or locally-owned establishments, such as breweries, book stores, coffee shops etc. A critical feature of Third Places is their accessibility. As noted by Ray Oldenburg, “Third places work . . . when they are local; and they work best when within walking distance of the people they serve”.
In addition to describing the neighborhood, home listings describe the house itself. In our study, words mentioned in the same listings where breweries were mentioned include ‘historic’, ‘bungalow’, ‘renovated’, and ‘original’, with the latter referring to a home’s features. Both South End and NoDa are historic neighborhoods in Charlotte, so these descriptors make sense. In the early 20th, NoDa was home to a number of textile mills and bungalow-style homes that housed the mills’ workers. The aforementioned Heist Brewery is housed in a former textile mill.
The language used to describe the randomly selected sample of home listings that do not mention breweries are quite different. Words such as ‘acres’ (indicating large lots), ‘schools’, and ‘culdesac’, ‘bonus room’, ‘formal dining’, and ‘family room’ describe homes that are indicative of a more suburban setting. In these listings, more emphasis appears to be placed upon the feature of the home rather than the characteristics of the neighborhood.
The research conducted by Isabelle, and I added support to the idea that craft breweries are viewed by both home sellers and real estate agents as neighborhood amenities. Otherwise, why mention them? So, next time you go to sell your home, make sure you mention that brewery just down the street from you.
Further Reading:
Nilsson, Isabelle and Neil Reid. 2019. The value of a craft brewery: On the relationship between craft breweries and property values. Growth and Change, Volume 50, Issue 2, pp. 689-704.
Nilsson, Isabelle and Neil Reid. 2024. Craft breweries as a neighborhood amenity: Evidence from residential real estate listings. Urban Geography, Volume