Home prices have continued to grow over the past year. The Case-Shiller Index noted an increase of 10.8% in home prices year-over-year ending in April. One of the factors that has been linked to the rise appears to be a city’s walkability.
George Washington University School of Business and Smart Growth America joined together to release a report ranking the walkability of 30 of the largest cities in the US. They concluded there is a distinct correlation between real estate values and walkability for both residential and commercial properties. Chris Leinberger, Research Professor of Urban Real Estate at GWU commented, “Walkable, urban for-sale housing is by far the most expensive housing in the country. The range, depends on the market, between 40% and 200% greater than driveable, suburban housing. Twenty-five years ago that relationship didn’t exist because walkable (cities back then) was not valued.”
The younger generation of Millennials tend to prefer transportation via car ride-shares, walking, bike shares and rapid transit in an effort to be more environmentally conscious. Washington, D.C. was ranked number 1 as the most walkable city. Those cities boasting more walkable neighborhoods have seen home real estate values bounce back quicker and higher than those with less.
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