Posted by Jessie Woodyard on Mon, Sep 28, 2009 @ 07:19 PM
What's your property's Walk Score? Don't know? You should.
http://www.walkscore.com was created a few years ago to rank the most walkable places to live. It rates the walkability of a property by finding nearby public amenities and commercial venues such as schools, parks, restaurants, stores., etc.
Here's an example, if you live in Downtown San Jose, the average Walk Score is 82 out of 100, practically a Walkers' Paradise. If you are live in Willow Glen, your average is 60, a Car Dependent neighborhood.
So how does a Walk Score make you rich?
Well, the website doesn't actually make you rich but living in a walkable community does. Chris Leinberger from The Brookings Institute in Washington DC stated at the most recent ULI South Bay's TOD Marketplace event that, "one Walk Score point equals $500 - $1,300 in value to a residential property," and can be as high as $17,500 per point in various neighborhoods of Washington DC.
CEO for Cities has done a study that outlines the value of Walk Score points in various metro areas. San Francisco's Walk Score points are valued at $2,985 each.
Pretty valuable website.
And if you're curious about the Bay Area's statistics:
San Francisco leads the Bay Area as #1 in Most Walkable Community in the nation, according to WalkScore. New York ranks second followed by Boston and Chicago ranking third and fourth respectively. San Jose trails as 17th in the nation beating cities such as Las Vegas, Dallas, and Sacramento.