Brighter Buying

“Walkability score” is key to sale-ability

by Kate Watt, Marketing Manager 21 March 2019

Amenity has long been touted as a driver of property values. Think about the Starbucks effect where the emergence of a café culture coincides with a property growth spurt. Those cashed-up, renovator hipster types just love their single origin roast!

Well forget counting coffee shops to assess a suburb’s growth potential. A new way to score hot spots is growing in popularity: it’s the walkability score.
Walkscore.com rates the walkability of a city from 0 (car dependent) to 100 (get your sneakers on).
There are parallels between high walk scores and high price growth says, Property Update.
Sydney is ranked Australia’s most walkable city with a score of 63. Property Update says home values in Sydney’s most walkable neighbourhoods can attract a premium of 20 per cent.
If you’ve ever tried to drive in Sydney, you won’t be surprised to hear that.
Brisbane gets a walkability score of 51, placing us 4th in Australia’s capital cities. Canberra is the least walkable with a score of 40. Check out the full list below.

WalkScores for Australia’s cities:

  • Sydney, 63
  • Melbourne, 57
  • Adelaide, 54
  • Brisbane, 51
  • Perth, 50
  • Newcastle, 49
  • Wollongong, 48
  • Gold Coast, 48
  • Central Coast, 41
  • Canberra, 40

Ready to walk a new path? View our current listings for sale or check our listings for rent.