If your house is located within easy walking distance to Starbucks, Whole Foods, great dry cleaners and hip restaurants with top chefs, your “home sweet home” could command $4k to $34k more than similar houses in less walkable neighborhoods.
“Walking the Walk,” was a study conducted by CEOS for Cities, a firm that promotes sustainable and friendly-living towns and cities. The study drew on approximately 90k recent home sales in 15 markets in the US.
According to Inman News, walkability was defined using an algorithm dubbed Walk Score that was developed by “civic software” developer Front Seat. And 47% of Los Angeles residents live in neighborhoods with Walk Scores of 70 and above.
Find your score at Walk Score.
The Walk Score algorithm calculates a property’s proximity to restaurants, coffee shops, schools, parks, stores and other amenities, assigning a score from zero to 100 depending on how many are within walking distance. A Walk Score of 70 or above indicates neighborhoods where it’s possible to get by without a car.
The study, which controlled for factors such as property size and a neighborhood’s income level and proximity to jobs, found a one-point increase in Walk Score was associated with an increase in value ranging from $500 to $3,000, depending on the market.
How L.A. neighborhoods’ Walk Scores rate (out of 100):
Hollywood 95
Carthay Square 94
Los Feliz 92
West Hollywood 91
Beverly Hills 89
Venice 89
Pacific Palisades 85
Santa Monica 85
Century City 78
Culiver City 77
Wilshire Corridor 62
Brentwood 55
Bel Air 32
Hollywood Hills 17
Malibu 14
Silverlake 2
Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business.
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Walk score snapshot of West L.A. neighborhood
