In Most California Cities, Better Transit Scores Mean Higher Home Prices
Whether it’s the daily commute or simply the ease of getting around town, your home’s proximity to public transportation is a hot-button issue for a lot of owners and buyers. It’s rare to find a house that puts you in prime position to take advantage of every public transit option available, so little things go a long way. That’s borne out in the home price numbers.
Redfin recently compared Walk Score’s Transit Scores, which measure the usefulness of transit routes near a home, with one million homes sold in 14 major U.S. metros between Janaury 2014 and April 2016 to figure out exactly what the value of one Transit Score point might be. On average, they found that one uptick adds around $2,040 to the price of a home in those markets. However, the number varies widely from market to market. That’s especially clear in California’s big cities.
In terms of city home prices that benefit from a healthy Transit Score boost, Los Angeles gets the biggest in the state with an additional $3,095 per point (0.65 percent). That’s followed by Oakland, which gets $2,816 per point (0.54 percent) and San Francisco, which sees a $4,845 boost (0.51 percent). Given the density and spread of each of those cities, it’s not too surprising to find out there’s a premium associated with public transit proximity.
In San Diego, there isn’t quite the demand for public transit by comparison. That’s clear in the fact that one Transit Score point only gives you a $786 (0.18 percent) boost in home price.
Only one metro area in the study actually saw extra Transit Score points as a negative. Orange County averaged a $201 negative drop associated with each point (-0.03 percent). As one real estate agent quoted in the Redfin study put it, “most people in Orange County prefer to drive their own cars; few would consider any other way to get around.”