Trends in national real estate are showing that home buyers are increasingly interested in walkability, in many cases choosing smaller, more expensive, older houses with better access to amenities in pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. In addition to good schools, low crime rates, and big yards, today’s home buyers are paying more and more attention to the proximity of stores, coffee shops, theaters, and parks. Traffic congestion and long commutes have become a fact of life for many Americans living in urban areas, increasing the attractiveness of a home situated in a place that would encourage them to use their walking shoes more than their engines.
Walking to buy groceries or go out to dinner saves on oil prices, and may be attractive to people who are worried about the sustainability of our oil markets. Urban experts say it’s also an issue of demographics: Baby boomers are reaching retirement age and facing too-large empty nests, and their grown children are buying their first homes; neither group wants large, modern lots in remote places where little is going on, and exciting, walkable neighborhoods are becoming increasingly attractive.
If you’re familiar with real estate listings in Portland and other areas where walkability ranks high among home buyers wishes, you’ll no doubt have seen the “Walk Score” that ranks homes according to the number of amenities within walking distance. Created by Seattle software company Front Seat in 2007, the Walk Score site includes an interactive map, where users can input an address and get a score. Walk Score uses an algorithm to calculate the distance from any address to amenities like restaurants, grocery stores, movie theaters and public transportation.
While the Walk Score isn’t perfect – it doesn’t take into account the availability or safety of sidewalks, street signs, or topographical impediments like rivers or hills – the Seattle company recently received a grant to improve its algorithm and further assist home buyers and home sellers interested in their Walk Score, and we’ll no doubt see a further rise in interest in walkability and ease of alternative transportation.
Real estate prices are reflecting this growing interest in walking distances. A study published in 2009 of 90,000 homes across the country by nonprofit CEOs for Cities (a group of urban leaders from the civic, business, academic and philanthropic sectors dedicated to building and sustaining the next generation of American cities) found that having more amenities within walking distance indeed boosts home prices. Walking-distance amenities may in fact raise home values by as much as $3,000 per one point increase in ranking. If you’re interested in selling your home in Portland or the metro area, there’s a good chance looking up your walk score will increase your success and attract buyers, as Portland ranks in the top ten of America’s most walkable cities, and 45% of Portland residents have a Walk Score of 70 or above.
Here’s a cool link that ranks the walkability of Portland neighborhoods: http://www.walkscore.com/OR/Portland
