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Walkability Helps Hawaii Kai's Home Market

By Barbara Abe

Real Estate Agent with East Oahu Realty

August 20, 2009 12:56 PM

Hawaii Kai Center, East Oahu, Honolulu, Hawaii, Barbara Abe, Realtor In June, 2008, I wrote a post about the Walk Score, and how high Honolulu scored. A new study, Walking the Walk, compared home sale prices with Walk Scores, and found that homes in more walkable neighborhoods, especially in densely-populated cities, sold from $4,000-$34,000 higher. The data included 90,000 recent home sales in 15 markets.

What is a Walk Score? From the source, "Walk Score measures the number of typical consumer destinations within walking distance of a house, with scores ranging from 0 (car dependent) to 100 (most walkable). By the Walk Score measure, walkability is a direct function of how many destinations are located within a short distance (generally between one-quarter mile and one mile of a home). Our measure of walkability reflects the convenience and proximity of having shopping and cultural activities close at hand, as well as the value households attach to mixed-use neighborhoods."

From Wikipedia, "Walkscore.com ranks communities nationwide (and soon, globally) based on how many businesses, parks, theaters, schools and other common destinations are within walking distance of any given starting point."

Other findings of the survey, according to NewsGenius (where you can read the full Walk study):

A one point increase in Walk Score was associated with an increase in value up to $3,000

The property value premium for walkability seems to be higher in denser urban areas and those with extensive transit systems

These are the 13 walking destinations scoring walkscore points: grocery store, coffee shop, movie theater, park, bookstore, drug store, clothing and music store, restaurant, bar, school, library, fitness, hardware store

I ran Honolulu - zip code 96801 - and got a Walk Score of 98 out of 100. Hawaii Kai scored 34, because it shows neighborhoods like Kalama Valley and Mariners Ridge which are not close to the "hub businesses" of Hawaii Kai. Our office, East Oahu Realty, scored 63 out of 100 - still a better score than most "outlying communities" in the country.

Now we have a study showing what we knew all along - that being able to walk to the beach and grocery and bank and Roy's Restaurant and the Hawaii Kai Bandstand - all make living in Hawaii Kai even more pleasurable. And that is reflected in the stable, and sustained, home values of our community.

Contact me for information on Hawaii Kai. It's a Buyer's Market here in Paradise.

Barbara Abe, Realtor
barbara@barbarashawaii.com
808-226-2537
www.barbarashawaii.com
www.movetohawaiikai.com