A new study says that homes located in more walkable neighborhoods command a price premium over similar homes in less walkable areas.
The study, "Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Home Values in U.S. Cities" was commissioned by CEOs for Cities and conducted by Joe Cortright using data from Walk Score and ZipRealty.
Key findings include:
•· In 13 out of 15 metro areas (sales data provided by ZipRealty), higher levels of walkability were directly linked to higher home values.
•· In the typical metropolitan area, a one point increase in Walk Score was associated with an increase in value ranging from $500 to $3,000. Gains were larger in denser, urban areas and smaller in less dense markets.
•· In the typical areas studied, the premium commanded for neighborhoods with above-average Walk Scores ranged from $4,000 to $34,000.
A key asset of cities is the relative ease with which people can access a wide range of jobs, goods, services and opportunities for social interaction. People and businesses value city locations for the accessibility they provide. Places that are walkable-that have a variety of services and destinations in close proximity to one another-are more convenient and more lively.
Walking is a largely unmeasured and grossly under appreciated component of the urban transportation system. Transportation data often focus exclusively on car and transit trips, ignoring pedestrian travel, even when it is an important component, i.e., walking to a transit stop or from a parking area (Litman, 2007). Consequently, walkability has been under emphasized or ignored as a vital form of urban transportation
