High Walkability Score Adds Value to Most Homes in U.S.

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According to Redfin, one "Walk Score Point" can increase the price of a U.S. home by an average of $3,250 or 0.9 percent.

To estimate how much walkability is worth when buying or selling a home, Redfin looked at the sale prices and Walk Score ratings of more than one million homes sold between January 2014 and April 2016 across 14 major metro areas to determine the average price of one Walk Score point. Walk Score measures a location's walkability by assigning a value from zero to 100, reflecting how many amenities, such as restaurants and grocery stores, one can easily and quickly reach on foot.

The value of a Walk Score Point varies by region and by price point. Of the 14 metro areas included in the analysis, one Walk Score point is worth the most, as a percentage of the median sale price, in Atlanta. There, one Walk Score point is worth $2,838, or 1.69 percent, on average. In Orange County, California, one Walk Score point adds just $114, or 0.02 percent, to a home's value.

In the luxury market, which Redfin defines as homes priced in the top 5 percent, walkability tends to be worth less. One Walk Score point can increase the price of a luxury home by an average $6,800 or 0.55 percent, about half the value of a Walk Score point in the overall market. Two metro areas buck this trend. In Baltimore, one Walk Score point adds 0.28 percent to the price of a luxury home, the same value it adds to an average home. In Orange County, a Walk Score point decreases the value of a typical luxury home by 0.3 percent or $451, a very small fraction of the $1.7 million median home sale price.

"We often think of walkability in generic terms, but like everything else in real estate, the value of proximity varies by location," said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. "What's notable in the data is that homeowners reap the financial benefits in terms of higher home values when cities invest in walker-friendly infrastructure."