Neighborhood Walkability
According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors, 58 percent of home seekers are looking for walkable neighborhoods that don’t require a lot of commuting time. Walkability has become such a sought-after attribute that walk scores have even become a part of digital real estate listings.
Whether in the suburbs or in urban neighborhoods, homebuyers want to feel like they are choosing a property that will encourage physical activity and provide easy access to local amenities. According to the professionals at Hero Brothers Homes, real estate professionals must consider walkability in order to accommodate buyer interests in 2015.
What Is Neighborhood Walkability?
Neighborhoods don’t just need pedestrian walkways in order to be deemed walkable. Here are a few other attributes that walkable neighborhoods offer:
- A city center (either a main street with businesses or a public central area)
- Streets that can accommodate pedestrians, bikers, and public transportation safely
- Schools and office buildings that are walking distance from homes
- Open spaces, parks, and playgrounds
- Easy access to public transportation for neighborhood home-dwellers
Why Walkability Matters
According to research from CEOs for Cities, in 13 out of 15 popular metro areas, a higher walkability score directly correlated with higher home values. If a home has a walk score that is higher than average, it may net $4,000 to $34,000 more than a comparable home in a less-walkable area. Based on the research, walkability is a factor that must be considered by modern real estate professionals.
Finding Out More
There are resources available to help real estate professionals determine the walkability of specific neighborhoods or cities. Professionals can use walkscore.com to determine how walkable a specific neighborhood or city is. Hero Brothers Homes professionals highly recommend personally taking a tour of a specific neighborhood in order to get a first-hand idea of the area’s walkability.