A valuable (and free) tool for buyers, sellers, and real estate investors, Walkscore.com provides information on property ‘walkability.’ And, just what is walkability? Walkability is how easy it is to walk to those services needed for daily living – everything from post offices and banks to restaurants and grocery stores. Specifically, Walkscore.com offers three key pieces of information:

  • Overall Walkability Score: Provides an aggregate score for any given city, suburb, or address expressing its walkability.
  • Services Map: Details what is nearby any given address.
  • Travel Time Map: Identifies how far you can travel by foot, car, bicycle, or public transit in xx minutes – and you get to set xx to any length of time you want.

As an example, let’s use this lovely highrise apartment for sale at 2308/8 Franklin Street in Melbourne for $520,000. If I enter the address into walkscore.com, we find that it has a walkability score of 99 (out of a possible 100), is surrounded by shopping and services, and is identified as a “walkers paradise.” How might you use walkscore.com?

If you are a buyer: Enter the address of a property you are considering purchasing to identify its walkability, what is nearby, and your estimated travel time to work or other key destinations.

If you are a seller: Enter the address of the property you are selling and promote its walkability score if appropriate. Use the travel time maps to identify travel times to key destinations, including major area employers.

If you are a property investor: Walkscore.com is a hidden gem for property investors. Of course, you can use it in the same ways as recommended for buyers and sellers. But, as an investor, the next time you learn of a major livability upgrade in an area, such as the construction of a shopping mall or a new rail station, enter that address into the walkscore.com service. Then, work backwards using the travel time map to identify areas ripe for investment because of their centrality to new community upgrades.

And, when you are ready to purchase a home or invest in real estate in the Melbourne metropolitan area, please consider giving me a call so that I may help with selecting the mortgage option that best meets your needs. I can be reached via email at michael@prioritylending.com.au or via phone at 0418-308-768.