Is It Walkable? More Buyers Want a Pedestrian-Friendly Community

People in cities across the U.S. are reaching the same conclusion: they're sick of cars. Favoring a more walkable city, current real estate trends are pointing toward buyers seeking out less pollution, less noise, and less stress in pedestrian friendly communities. How important is this feature? It's the number one real estate trend in both foreign and domestic buyers.

Is society canning the cars?

Coming full circle, Americans seem to be outgrowing the automobile in favor of more pedestrian friendly towns. Instead of moving out to the burbs, homeowners are looking for locations walking distance to work and play alike. The greater the mix of uses, the higher the demand is for homes in an area, driving up not only property values, but local tax revenue as well.

What are buyers looking for?

• A healthy and convenient lifestyle, either within walking distance of jobs or walking distance to timely and reliable transit systems.
• A wide array of amenities – accessible sans automobile – including retail, restaurants, schools, parks, museums, waterfront and cultural landmarks, sports and athletics, nightlife, and more.

How can you quickly tell if an area is pedestrian-friendly?

Simply search out area "Walk Scores." Measuring the walkability of any address based on a scale between 0-100, the higher the number, the easier it is to reach your destination by foot. From Redfin to Zillow, this information is becoming increasingly available as real estate trends lead buyers to search out these areas, which are rapidly growing in popularity.

What are the most walkable U.S. cities?

1. New York - 87.6
2. San Francisco - 83.9
3. Boston - 79.5
4. Philadelphia - 76.5
5. Miami - 75.6
6. Chicago - 74.8
7. Washington D.C. - 74.1
8. Seattle - 70.8
9. Oakland - 68.5
10. Baltimore - 66.2

Don't let your clients walk out. Stay on top of the latest real estate trends, walking them right into their new dream home.

To view the original article, visit the Properties Online blog.