As digital products like Walkability™ become available, the process of buying a home is getting a little easier for consumers. A recent Chicago Tribune article titled “New Online Tools Give Inside Scoop on Homes” explores the benefits to homebuyers of rollouts to the real estate market, including Housefax.com, Seller LeadTrac and Zumper.com, along with Walkability.
What does Walkability bring to the real estate sector?
Let’s say George and Mary are moving to a new town and need to buy a house. They go on a real estate website and start their search. What do they look for?
Like many of us, George and Mary are interested in a healthy lifestyle and a strong sense of community. An excellent way to find both is to purchase a house that’s walkable – that is, it offers easy walking routes to stores, restaurants, parks and schools.
Photo credit: Jacquelyn Martin / ASSOCIATED PRESS
As we point out in our post “Why Walkability Is a Must-Have,” the National Association of Realtors found that 99 percent of survey participants considered sidewalks and walkable destinations to be top priorities for their new home. For the majority – 60 percent – a more walkable neighborhood was more important than square footage.
But when George and Mary are trawling through listings online, it’s hard to tell how convenient it would be to take their daily constitutionals from a given location, especially if they can’t scope out the area for themselves. If they don’t have an agent, they might be unsure how safe the neighborhood is for late-night strolls, whether sprawling intersections lie between their house and the park, or how close the property is to public transit.
Photo credit: city-data.com
When real estate professionals use the Walkability dataset, they can offer all this information to their online customers through their portals or agents. Would-be homeowners can take advantage of Walkability’s focus on real-world conditions, such as:
- Street type
- Speed limits
- Crime
- Intersection complexity
- Accessibility to schools, restaurants and other points of interest
(Take a look at how Walkability stacks up to Walk Score.)
Because a property’s Walkability score helps determine its true value, others within the real estate industry benefit from Walkability, including lenders, insurers and appraisers.
With Walkability data and digital tools, George and Mary are sure to find a lovely new home, even when searching from far away.