Does Walkability Influence Housing Prices?

Abstract

Objective. We examine the effects of neighborhood walkability on house values. Recent research claims that walkability makes homes more valuable, ceteris paribus. We contend that some studies report a spurious effect of walkability because of differences between areas with high and low walkability. Methods. We replicate the positive effect of walkability on prices for single-family homes and condominiums in Miami, Florida, using a unique data set of house values and characteristics. We employ a fixed effects regression model instead of a traditional ordinary least squares regression model to account for the unobserved heterogeneity of neighborhoods. Results. We find that walkability's impact on housing value becomes statistically insignificant at the margin after controlling for heteroscedasticity and neighborhood fixed effects. Conclusions. The significant impact of the fixed effects suggests that something other than walkability is affecting prices and that better specified models are needed to discern the real price effects of walkability.

The impact of walkable environment on single-family residential property values

“…Some studies (Pivo and Fisher 2009;Boyle, Barrilleaux, and Scheller 2013) use walk score (Walk Score 2014) to quantify walk accessibility and its impact on residential, retail, and industrial property values. Walk score is calculated by measuring the straight-line distance between a property and its nearest educational, retail, food, recreational, and entertainment destinations.…”

“…Apart from the potential environmental and social benefits, recent empirical studies also illustrate that a more walkable environment can improve residential and commercial property values (Pivo and Fisher 2009;Boyle, Barrilleaux, and Scheller 2013). In addition, the emerging domain of responsible property investing (Pivo and Fisher 2009) seeks to promote real estate investments that benefit both investors and the common good.…”

Residential housing prices: impact of housing characteristics, accessibility and neighbouring apartments – a case study of Dortmund, Germany

“…For example, dwelling related aspects are the type and size of the dwelling, the number of rooms or the amount of land that goes with it. Among others, neighbourhood related aspects are the walkability of the surrounding, the level of crime, the quality of proximate schools, the racial or ethnic population composition, green spaces or parks, the effects of investments in amenities, or the presence or absence and the quality of sidewalks in walkable and in car-dependent residential areas (Anderson & West, 2006;Boyle, Barrilleaux, & Scheller, 2014;Cervero & Duncan, 2004;Li et al, 2015;Lynch & Rasmussen, 2001;Song & Knaap, 2004). Accessibility variables such as distances to the central business district (CBD), motorways and public transport are also described to correlate with housing prices (Hess & Almeida, 2007).…”

Walkability Assessment in a Rapidly Urbanizing City and Its Relationship with Residential Estate Value

“…Apart from positive correlations, insignificant or negative correlations were also observed. Boyle, Barrilleaux [46] found that walkability's impact on housing value is statistically insignificant in Miami, Florida. Similarly, in Cortright [34], two out of the 15 studies housing markets did not show positive correlation between walkability and housing value, and one of them (Las Vegas) exhibited negative correlation, while another one (Bakersfield) showed insignificant correlation.…”

“…The economic value of a walkable neighborhood was obtained by encouraging economic transactions and social exchanges [1,11,42]. A growing number of studies have contributed to the debate on the relationship between walkability level and property value [1,10,[34][35][36][42][43][44][45][46]. For instance, it was reported that walkability level is positively correlated with residential estate value in 13 out of 15 housing markets sampled in U.S. metropolitan areas [34].…”