More Evidence for a Link Between Transit and Home Values

Pulling from a Redfin report, Joe Cortright discusses the relationship between home value and Transit Score. "What they find is that, after controlling for these other observable characteristics that we know influence home values, that each additional point of Transit Score is associated with an average of about $2,000 in higher home value."

But it's difficult to distinguish between the effects of walkability and transit access. "As a result, given the overlap between walkable neighborhoods and transit-served ones, its probably difficult, and maybe impossible, to tease out the separate contribution of the two factors."

Cortright concludes, "Measures like Walk Score and Transit Score (and a third sibling, Bike Score) are actually alternate ways of measuring a home's accessibility: how easy it is to reach a range of common destinations."

Another finding: the positive correlation grew more pronounced in places where transit, walking, and biking were already prevalent. But in places dominated by automobile travel, (relatively) high Transit Scores can actually decrease home value.