“Walk Score” is an interactive tool (just enter an address) that measures how easy it is to get around without a car. It measures convenience of walking, biking & using public transit to reach amenities such as schools, shops, parks, restaurants, grocery stores, libraries, cafes…etc.
Basically it describes how easy it is to walk around a specific neighbourhood by assigning a score between 1-100 and helps home buyers get an idea of how close everything is to their potential new address.
Why is this important??
1. Walkability and transit scores are associated with HIGHER HOME VALUES and are the key ingredients for Toronto home buyers’ consideration.
2. Transportation costs are the 2nd largest household expense.
3. “Neighbourhood”, “Commute time” and “Places to Walk to” are the THREE MOST IMPORTANT CRITERIA for home buyers.
4. Urban efficiency and GREEN LIVING are increasingly important to home buyers.
Walk Score recently ranked Toronto as the 2nd most walkable city in Canada (Vancouver took top spot).
At AlexBeauregard.com we are excited about the Walk Score feature just added to our Toronto Neighbourhoods page. Now, not only can you see current listings in specific neighbourhoods, you can also see its Walk Score, and browse what’s nearby in schools, grocery stores, parks, dining options and entertainment.
If you are considering a move to a new neighbourhood or just curious about how your own home ranks, check it out, just for fun!
Scott Miller says:
Alex, I ABSOLUTELY agree.
Walkability, to be very honest, used to be a problem for me. It makes life boring and difficult. Gosh, you wanna breathe in your neighborhood, somewhere nice, some trees, some running water; something!
Thanks goodness, I was a renter when I was in that non-walkable neighborhood; back to my lovely place now (though still renting) I love it here, since there is a beautiful part right here; I can breathe some CLEAN air and take a walk once in a while.
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I’d like to mention this, as a person being somehow involved with real estate websites (I’m a web developer), I’d love to ask all those realtors reading this, PLEASE make sure your website has a WalkScore feature, so users know what they are going into.
I had found this in the past and used it for one of my clients; it has this walkscore widget which can help + Neighborhood sections you can fill out for your leads to read and know More about their next life style:
https://realtyna.com/wpl-platform/
I hope I have managed to add some extra value to your article, Alex. It’s lovely to see realtors putting time to provide more information about their expertise and about the neighborhoods they know about.