Estately Offers New Way to Search for Homes With Walkability
We’re very proud indeed to announce that our newest release allows consumers to search for homes for sale using FrontSeat’s award winning Walk Score home ratings. Truly environmentally conscious home buyers who want to live right in the midst of shops, parks, public transit, schools, and workplaces can use Estately to search for a “Walkers Paradise†home – a home with a WalkScore over 90.
We are now the best place for home buyers to find a home to fit a healthy lifestyle that takes advantage of nearby access to local shops, parks, public transit, schools, workplaces and more. Washington residents of pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods weigh 7 pounds less than residents of sprawling neighborhoods, residents of walkable neighborhoods drive less and suffer fewer car accidents, and studies show that every 10 minutes added to commute time results in 10% less time spent in community activities.
In addition to the health benefits of living in a walkable neighborhood, eliminating a car can save homeowners as much as $8,000 a year according to AAA and, in the words of Christopher Leinberger, author of Option of Urbanism, home buyers who eliminate a car can use their savings to buy a home that costs approximately $135,000 more.
Want to take a look at our new Walk Score search feature first hand? Here are some stats we’ve gathered, along with links to each search (ordered by walk friendliness):
- San Francisco – 49% of all homes (940 of 1890)
- Chicago – 34% of all homes (4,429 of 12,932)
- Seattle – 20% of all homes (692 of 3,320)
- Portland -12% of all homes (491 of 3,998)
- San Diego -11% of all homes (577 of 5,019)
- Los Angeles – 8% of all homes (901 of 10,190)
You can read the full press release here.
Join the discussion »- January 8th, 2009
- by Galen
- New Features, Press
Is This Home Walkable? Estately Has Answers.
Check out this “Very Walkable” beauty in the heart of Fremont, Seattle. Or this slightly above average, “Walker’s Paradise” house in the heart of Echo Park, LA. Who said that you need a car for everything in LA!
I have admired Walk Score since they launched – it is one of those deceptively simple, super-clever products that just makes sense. Walk Score is opinionated technology with a mission.
When we started Estately, it was with the premise that real estate is about more than beds, baths, price and square feet. We wanted a real estate search that would take the surroundings into account and we wanted our search to acknowledge that the location matters almost as much as the home. So we brought in local school information for every property, local transit stops, and a map search that allows every day people to do things like search for a home one or two miles from an important place for them (here are homes near Microsoft for example).
And now we’re excited to add another data point – another piece of information that can help consumers when they’re buying a house.
Estately already covers 6 of Walk Score’s 10 Most Walkable Cities (underlined for your clicking convenience).
- San Francisco, CA
- New York, NY
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Philadelphia, PA
- Seattle
- Washington D.C.
- Long Beach
- Los Angeles
- Portland
We’re proud to be the first place you can get a Walk Score on virtually every remotely walkable property for sale on the West Coast.
On a personal note, I am very pleased to be moving from a Walk Score 72 (Very Walkable) to a 94 (Walker’s Paradise). I can already tell how much my quality of life is going to improve.
Join the discussion »