Who would have thought that the nearness of your Denver home to grocery stores, schools, and parks would make your home more valuable? In this "green" conscious age, "walkability" is an asset as it reduces the dependence on cars, impacts global warming, and promotes healthy living. According to a recent study of 94,000 real estate transactions in 15 U.S. cities, homes in close proximity to social and shopping amenities sold for $3,000 - $34,000 more.
The study, Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities, conducted by CEOs for Cities, used the Walk Score concept developed by Sightline Industry, to analyze transactions by a large real estate company. What makes an area walkable? According to the Sightline Institute, a walk-friendly area has these characteristics:
•· There is a center like a "main street" where businesses are clustered.
•· The businesses are close enough to the street to encourage people to walk into directly, in contrast to entering from the parking lot.
•· Population density in the area should be substantial enough for local businesses to flourish and for public transportation to run frequently.
•· The area should featured mixed-use housing for residents of different income levels that is near workplaces, schools, and other popular destinations.
•· The streets should be handicapped accessible
•· The city should be built on a grid to allow easy access to different locations from several direction by car or on foot.
•· Streets should feature pedestrian medians, protected bus shelters, and bike paths.
Walkability scores are determined by how accessible services are; any amenity within .25 miles is considered walkable until it is one mile away. The composite scores are organized on a 100 point scale. The Walking the Walk study also considered home size, the number of bathrooms and bedrooms, age, neighborhood income levels, distance from the Central Business District and access to jobs in the calculation. They found that a one point increase in the walk score increased the home's value by $500 to $3,000.
Though Denver was not among the 15 cities studied, it did appear on a Brookings Institute report of the Ten Most Walkable Cities, as it offers an average of five walkable places per person. The walkability of Denver as a whole has walkability score of 66, but within the city, some neighborhoods score in the high 90's: Lodo - 97; Golden Triangle - 96; Capitol Hill - 93; and Cherry Creek - 90. These Denver areas are considered Walkers' Paradises, but the whole area fares well as 43% of Denver residents have a Walk Score of 70 or above, 81% have a Walk Score of at least 50, and only 19% live in Car-Dependent neighborhoods. (Click to see an interactive map of the Walk Score for Denver neighborhoods.)
The walkability for a particular address can be obtained by entering the exact address at www.walkscore.com. Homes in one development laid out over 10 acres would have different walk scores according to where they were located. Based on the Walking the Walk study, a home nearer to the entrance to the development would sell for more than a home a mile or two from the entrance. Homes on winding streets with big lots will probably score lower than housing units that are close together.
The walk score of a property is only one consideration when you are buying a home. The pros at Bandy Homes will help you consider -all the factors effecting values homes in Cherry Creek or any of the the communities in the city of Denver or its suburbs like Parker (Walk Score 91), or Castle Rock (83).
Marianne Bandy
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