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          Port Orange Real Estate Blog by Lisa Hill, "The Smart Choice" for your real estate needs

walkingAs I was posting the price reduction to all my real estate blogs (using several is great for pushing your web site up the search engines!), for my real estate listing: Daytona Beach house for sale, within walking distance to the beach... as I got to my personal, Trulia real estate blog, I stumbled across a link that questioned the "walkability of the neighborhood". Well I can't say I've ever seen a web site like that before, so my curiosity was piqued. But not only am I a REALTOR®, I'm also a Daytona Beach native, so I already know the statistics and demographics of pretty much any neighborhood; such as whether or not it has sidewalks... how safe it is... and other factors you might want to know, if you like to walk for exercise.

So to do a test on the Walk Score web site, I used my home address as a test subject... and FYI, I live in a gated housing community in Port Orange... (10+ years ago, we knew we wanted to live in Port Orange; and we decided to buy a house in a subdivision, within another subdivision.)

Now before I tell you my own neighborhood's walking score, let me provide a few more details about Port Orange. The whole city of Port Orange has sidewalks on both sides of the street in almost every neighborhood; and even along the sides of the busiest roads! It also has doctors, all sorts of shopping, banking, restaurants, etc., within walking distance of almost every community in the city. It also bears mentioning, the motto for Port Orange is "Unique by Choice, Not by Chance". Needless to say, a LOT of thought has been put into the planning of this beautiful city. Oh, and on a personal note, I frequently walk several miles at a time, sometimes late at night, without a care in the world.

Now to get to my neighborhood score... I input my address and discovered we had been given one of the lowest possible scores. Well, to put it bluntly, that is absurd! So what the heck is the criteria for these supposed walking scores!? I'll let you see for yourself. Just follow the links below. Because the irony gets even better... Check this out!

At the top of the web page, there are links about the sit that say "How it Works" and "How it Doesn't Work". Excuse me for thinking this but if you have to post a link on your own site, that tells you how it goes wrong, you have a serious problem with your system.

So to finalize this, I'm interested in what kind of results you get when you run your own walkability tests. I'm not going to list all the criteria from the How it Works, and How it Doesn't Work links. I'll let you check it out for yourself. And then, I'm VERY interested in what kind of results you get. Run your own little tests, and let me know what you think.

Is the Neighborhood Walkability Score a legitimate test, or a malfunctioning piece of crap? As Broker Bryant would put it... What Say Ye?

Lisa Hill Port Orange Realtor with Adams Cameron Realtors

list real estate in Port Orange FL with Lisa Hill and Adams Cameron Realtors and get it sold

 

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36 Comments on Buying a House? What is the Walking Score of your home and neighborhood? Or is this a Ridiculous Ruse?

SEP
07
2009
206,073 Points

interesting post aloha 
8:36pm • #1
687,902 Points 83 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

I have been playing around with "Walk Score" for the past week only because I am working with a client that is EXCLUDING properties based on walk score.  And this is a disservice.  The walk scores have been way off on some of the addresses I've used, and like you, I know the neighborhoods -- what restaurants are close by, etc.  I would never advise a client to discount based on walk score.  It's helpful to get a general idea, but there's so much that can be missed.
8:44pm • #2

Walkability is an interesting concept. I think a description of what makes it walkable may be better than simply a score. I am going to look into some of my favorite neighborhoods and see how they rate.
8:54pm • #3
SEP
08
2009
362,055 Points 5 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Attended Rain Camp

Sorry, I'm only interest in the Dairy Queen score. ;-)
7:03am • #4
Outside Blog

I have done this before too. Any home that is in the suburbs never scores well, homes in the city like Downtown Denver or right on Daytona beach sccores better. 
8:34am • #5
176,157 Points 1 Featured Post Called Shot Master

Great concept, but a poor implementation. I used to live in a super walkable neighborhood in Dallas. Very innner-city, lots of restaurants, grocery store, schools, all in walking distance.
8:51am • #6
483,220 Points 1 Featured Post Localism Sponsor Outside Blog

Well, an interesting site but certainly not so accurate.  It found some local amenities but also missed some pretty obvious stuff.  I'll pass.
8:53am • #7
114,824 Points 5 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Hit Router Attended Rain Camp

Completely not accurate on my area -- the area that I live in is probably one of the most walkable areas - however it gives it a very low score.  That really stinks that there are some buyer's out there using this as a guide as to where to buy - they are going to be very dissapointed!
8:55am • #8

The walk score only really works for downtown living.....Are you in a part of the city that has cafes,grocery,banks,day to day shopping.......Just another marketing tool to use if you can use it.....
9:06am • #9

I totally agree with the inaccuracy of these sites and don't see how they get away with advertising this stuff.  Most all of the "National websites" (not to mention any names) but one that starts with a Z and sounds like a willow tree has home valuations soo wrong and yet consumers could be lead to believe they are right on.  If an agent did that on his website we would be sued so fast and probably get a license check.

They have information and comparable that don't even come close to matching and their so called values are such a wide range how can they come close to calling it a value?  I wish when I did a CMA for a potential customer I could use the range of $100,000 to somewhere around $175,000 and then spend double the pages to explain why it may or may not be either and still be considered as a possible agent they would use. I just don't get it!  Other funny fact is all of our big franchises are jumping right on their ship with them and providing them with all of our listings so they can sell the buyer referrals back to us.
9:23am • #10
174,363 Points 13 Featured Posts Outside Blog

i'm going to have to give it a FAIL Lisa.  After putting my address in, it points to 3 businesses that have closed and makes no mention of a huge shopping and dining pavilion that's been open for well over a year. 

 

Hey Susie, You can use Google Maps on your Iphone for the Dairy Queen search! Hee hee! That's how I found the closest one when I was pregnant! :)
9:32am • #11
178,399 Points 10 Featured Posts Hit Router

We live in place with a lot of rural areas so the Walk Score doesn't help us much at all unless we were using it for a place in downtown Missoula, and even then I don't think it would be great by their scoring factors.
9:37am • #12
815,674 Points 7 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Well we got a 62 out of hundred, but I still spend a lot of time in the car.  I think it is a gimmick designed by the greenies to get us all living in little transit villages.
9:43am • #13
419,203 Points 5 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

I'm a fan of WalkScore.com for cities. It does a great job in San Francisco, and also seems good in some of our Peninsula suburbs like San Carlos and Los Altos. Just one more tool at our disposal; certainly not the end-all and be-all.
10:17am • #14
380,881 Points 29 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

I think as in all web sites, that one cannot always rely on what they say. Any one of us real estate people could build a website and fill it full of information..but if you dont' verify facts, then...well...

That said, we've all heard the Zillow stories. Heck, on the Walk Score site, I saw the value of my home, and while I'd like to totally disagree with it, it could be pretty close, based on a recent appraisal I had done on a nearby home. But again, I would want a "second opinion" before I would believe what they told me.

As for Walk Score, it has it's ups and downs. I just did both my condo (scored 96) and my house (scored 65) and I would say they are both very accurate. Now, I don't know the grocery store they mention by my home, but....

A carpenter does not build a house with just a hammer and saw. Nails, lumber, screwdrivers and the like make up the tools in his toolbox. We need to use these as tools!
10:22am • #15
387,871 Points 6 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog

Great post! A neighborhoods walk-ability can impact your quality of life. I love being able to walk to some restaurants or the park or community pool.

;)

 
10:27am • #16
145,516 Points 21 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Turns out this is a timely discussion...look what just came across my RSS feeds on Walkability

I agree with other commenters above that anything suburban gets a crummy score regardless of how walkable the area is. I live in Carrboro, NC which, as anyone who lives here knows, THRIVES on being walkable. In fact Carrboro has a great score. I am an easy walk of less than a mile from 'downtown' all sidewalk all the way and I have a 14! Go figure.

 

 
12:15pm • #17
140,512 Points Localism Sponsor

I think the best test of a walk score is to get out and do it yourself!  Amenities that may be important to you may not be on their list....
12:51pm • #18

My score was WAY off. Many of the scoring aspects missed the business or amenities right near by. This is very much hit or miss just like Zillow. Sometimes they nail it sometimes I wonder what they were thinking. I would never make a decision base on it.

 Win the day!

Mike

 
2:26pm • #19
262,014 Points 5 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp

We've been writing about walkability for over two years and here in Northern Virginia it is definitely an asset.  It reminds me of Mapquest  - it's not 100% accurate but it gives you a great place to start, even if you take a detour.
3:13pm • #20
144,518 Points 2 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Since I concentrate on green and energy efficient homes I believe that walk score is pretty important since the time people spend in a car is related to the impact they have on the environment.

I have found it to be close but it can't take into account all situations. Our downtown may be walkable but a lot of stuff closes after business hours (although that is improving), on the other hand we have some great neighborhoods that have plenty of businesses that are open and busy but I probably wouldn't advise someone to walk around at night on the off streets, and those places get really high walk scores.

It's a tool and a starting point but if it could tell a person everything about a place then why would there be any value in hiring an agent to help you understand the neighborhood?
4:43pm • #21
152,636 Points 1 Featured Post

I think the idea of the site is to score area that allow pople to park their cars and walk or ride bikes for the majority of their outings. The closer you are to as many different businesses possible the better it works for those who want to park their cars.

So if this is what people are looking for it may be a good site. But one would have to look at the types of businesses they really use on the list they get to see if THAT list will work for them.

Not sure I woud want to rely on it to purchase a home, but I think it is a good tool for a starting point for someone looking to walk/bike and kill the car in their life. Nothing is perfect.

 
5:12pm • #22
591,941 Points 22 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

Wow. A lot of differing results for everyone. Based on the ridiculous results I found for my neighborhood, I would have tossed the whole thing out the window, but apparently it works for some of you. I think my neighborhood scored in the teens. Yet we have a Super WalMart about 1.2 miles away. Maybe it thinks that's not close enough. But when I first clicked the "walkability" button, I was approaching strictly from an exercise perspective. I buy way too many groceries to even walk across the parking lot!

So perhaps they need to split the scoring into 2 sections. Why is the walker using the site? Are they looking for a safe neighborhood that has plenty of walking trails, sidewalks, safety, etc., for exercise purposes? Or do they need to walk instead of drive to all their every day errands?
7:00pm • #23
116,623 Points

Hi, Well it is an ok site. but I agree, it is not really so accurate..  thanks for the info! 
7:59pm • #24
193,448 Points 1 Featured Post Localism Sponsor Outside Blog

Funny measure of a neighborhood "walkability" Lisa. I like to compare comps instead
11:52pm • #25
SEP
09
2009
550,841 Points 22 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

I really think that this can only work for cities or someone in a town with a complete downtown and lives on that busy street.  I had a score of 37 and said 'car required'.  90% of people in my town have a better walkable score than my area.  Hogwash ....  every place is the same in suburbia.  You have to have a car to go everywhere.  We don't even have a bus! 
12:25pm • #26
SEP
11
2009
175,177 Points 8 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp

Here in the deep south, almost everywhere you need to go, you'll have ot travel that proverbial "country mile." Being a true northeastern inner-city girl, I KNOW walkability. Outside of the major city intown-areas, the south just doesn't have it. You are hard-pressed to find a sidewalk. No, Honey, don't come here without a car!
5:27pm • #27
591,941 Points 22 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

Elva- That's just it though. We HAVE sidewalks everyone in our area. The first house I tried was one of my listings. I don't think there were any sidewalks on that street, and the shopping was all about a mile away. So I tried my own house, where we have sidewalks on both sides of the street, and we're surrounded my shopping, banks, doctors, chiropractors... you name it! And the scores were backward. I have no idea how they're gauging the "walkability" of a neighborhood.  It made no sense.
8:44pm • #28
SEP
16
2009
449,877 Points 44 Featured Posts Outside Blog Hit Router Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Lisa -   Just got back from vacation and was catching up on posts.  Saw yours and it caught my eye, as I'd just finished reading this artcile, released by our association.  It seems more scientific in approach, but it certainly doesn't allow you to pinpoint and address like the site you used.  You might want to look at it for fun: http://blog.walkscore.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/WalkingTheWalk_CEOsforCities.pdf 

I put my address in the site your provided and it gives my area a low score too.  I guess it's subjective - to me, walking less than a mile is walkable and we do it occasionally, depending upon where we're going.  But as others have stated, some of the landmarks they use have been closed for years or are completely erroneous.  Not only that, but our development has a walkway/bike path within it, which follows a natural arroyo. Lovely for a nice walks with the kids or pets.  I suppose I'd need to understand their definition of walkability!

 
8:46am • #29
591,941 Points 22 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

Karen- I walk for exercise... usually 3-4 miles. So when I first saw the site, I thought that's what it was about. Being in the fitness industry for 21 years tends to make you think differently than everyone else =/  But after I saw the bad scores I realized they were thinking of people who would like to walk instead of drive. But there are pros and cons to that. Who wants to like right beside a big shopping plaza? You need some kind of buffer zone. I'd think that a mile is not big deal. And what about kids walking to school? When my daughter was in high school, she walked or rode a bike until she started driving. That should be a consideration as well.

I think they have some fine-tuning to do. People should be able to enter their own criteria for why they want to walk, and then tally the score. It's not a one-size-fits-all thing =)
5:32pm • #30
525,005 Points 33 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

the new website I'm about to launch will have a walkability button for every listing -how fun eh? :-)
11:31pm • #31
SEP
17
2009
591,941 Points 22 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

Liz- That should be interesting. BTW, I just gave you a shoutout and a link back in my last post ;-)
10:42am • #32
591,941 Points 22 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

Liz- That should be interesting. BTW, I just gave you a shoutout and a link back in my last post ;-)
10:42am • #33
SEP
23
2009
Outside Blog

I wonder how they handle that walking score for those of us who practice in rural areas? Or some cities where just a few feet makes a diffence in the neighborhood. Here in Chicago--the worst hood and the best neighborhood can be seen from the same window.
3:40pm • #34
591,941 Points 22 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

Al- I'm afraid your score would be the worst. It seems to me like they really should split the questionnaire in 2. 1 for those who want to walk to appointments, shopping, etc. and another for those who are walking for exercise. The requirements are completely different for each person.
8:28pm • #35
OCT
04
2009
113,681 Points 4 Featured Posts

I think like #2 and others have said we have to at least understand it because some clients will be using it. I look at it a little like Zillow. Some public absolutely believes in Zestimates and what's on this site, which makes our job harder and harder. I just turn it now into an opportunity to show my consulting side.
5:19pm • #36

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Lisa Hill (Daytona Beach Real Estate)

Daytona Beach, FL

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