Realtors: Buyers Will Pay Extra for Walkable Neighborhoods
(Source: Flickr/Alan Bloom.)
There's ample evidence that people like to live in places where they can easily walk to goods, services, and recreation, and that such places are advantageous both socially and economically. A new report, the National Community and Transportation Preferences Survey, adds hard data to that argument. Not only do buyers in most demographic groups prefer walkability, they're willing to pay a premium for it.
The survey from the National Association of Realtors includes a simple question: “If you were moving to a new home, would you be willing to spend more to live in a community where you could easily walk to parks, shops, and restaurants?”
Seventy-seven percent of respondents across all age groups agreed to varying degrees. But the generational split reveals surging support for walkable development among younger age groups, with 57% of Gen Z buyers saying they would pay “a little more” for such a property, while another 35% would pay “a lot more,” for a whopping 92% combined. Numbers are similar for Millennials: 85% overall (52% a little/33% a lot), but taper off for Gen X at 74%% (53%/21%). Even among the oldest American buyers (a group the National Association of Realtors calls Silent/Greatest), spending extra for walking access polls at a majority (56%), corresponding with research showing some seniors seeking smaller homes in walkable neighborhoods.
Buyers in the survey also identify walkability as a primary factor in deciding where to live. Among that group, access to “sidewalks and places to take walks” slightly outpolls being within an easy walk of shops and parks: 84% to 79%. Seventy-two percent identify having “a short commute to work” as somewhat or very important.
(Source: National Association of Realtors.)
Moreover, people who live in such communities see tangible quality-of-life benefits. Among survey respondents who agreed that “[t]here are lots of places to walk nearby such as shops, cafes, and restaurants” in their current neighborhood, 89% say they are satisfied with the quality of life, with 48% saying they are “strongly” so.
Previous studies have shown the economic benefits of what Smart Growth America calls walkable urbanism. It found that homes in such neighborhoods sold for 34% higher prices per square foot compared to auto-oriented areas, with office and multifamily housing bringing a 47% premium.
Access to public transportation and bike lanes shows a distinct generational split. Overall, 65% of buyers say “having public transit nearby” is important, but Gen Z (42%) and Millennials (41%) have stronger preferences than Baby Boomers (29%).
(Source: National Association of Realtors.)
The survey also examines the preference between “houses with small yards and it is easy to walk to the places you need to go” and “houses with large yards and you have to drive.” A small majority overall, 56–44%, favor small and walkable, which represents a 4 percentage-point upswing since the pandemic-era survey from 2020. This question also reveals a generational split, with Gen Z (61–39%) aligning with the oldest generation (62–38%) with the strongest preferences for small and walkable.
Gen X is the group that most prefers large yard/driving homes, but only by 51%. Conventional housing wisdom is that these preferences shift with age as couples with children eventually opt for larger suburban houses, but according to the National Association of Realtors data, Millennials may be disrupting that trend. Among Gen X parents with kids in school, 57% favored large yard/driveable, but their Millennial counterparts preferred small/yard walkable by 56%.
Strong Towns has written frequently about the mismatch in the housing market between the sizes of American households compared to what the housing industry builds for them. The latest National Association of Realtors report adds an interesting data point: 31% of all participants had children under the age of 18 living at home.
The solution for this strong consumer preference seems obvious: Build, or allow, more housing in compact, walkable neighborhoods that buyers are overwhelmingly saying they desire. Seventy-five percent of residential land in the U.S.’s biggest cities is zoned for single-family housing only. Many American downtowns have restrictive zoning that prevents residential and mixed-use developments (the National Association of Realtors survey directly addresses this issue, with 43% of respondents saying they would like their city or town to prioritize the reuse of commercial buildings for new housing). Until these policies, and the financial incentives for the Suburban Experiment, are revised, North American cities and towns are hamstrung from responding to this market feedback.
The report has many more topical survey questions and data points that would interest developers, planning professionals, and elected officials, including attitudes about infrastructure priorities, car usage, and impediments to walking by generation.
Many cities in the United States are experiencing a housing crisis, with pressure growing for someone to find a solution. But is an official solution even possible? With dysfunctional institutions and a divided culture, the “solution” might come down to individuals doing what they can in the moment.