Friday, October 16, 2009

Do you know your walkscore?

What could be greener than walking.  An interesting new neighborhood and home value has been gaining popularity recently.  It's called a walk score.  Several real estate websites have begun to put this value next to home listings.  I was told about this by some buyers I have been representing, they always knew the walkscore of the homes they viewed.  This is not a new measurement of a neighborhoods value however I believe it is becoming more important because people would rather be close to shopping, dining and entertainment they can walk to.  Or ride a bike.  It gives them options other than always having to drive their car.  I think people always thought about this but it was one of the intangibles that was considered during a home purchase.  People want to be close but not too close to these services.  A great example is that I walked to the Peet's coffee shop from my home in the east end to write this blog.  It's interesting that tools have now become available to put some numerical value to walkability.  Exactly how does this score translate into dollars is an interesting calculation. Another website that is currently only functioning in Philadelphia says that each additional point on a walk score according to them is worth between $700 and $3,000 dollars.  Curious what your walk score is? go to walkscore.com and plug in your address.

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