Putting a value on 'sidewalk ballet'

Despite the drop in home values, some owners can do a little happy dance. If they live within walking distance of useful places, their home is worth 4 to 15 percent more than comparable homes elsewhere.

A new report by CEOs For Cities reviewed data comparing walkability to housing prices in 15 markets across the country, including Chicago.

According to "Walking the Walk, How Walkability Raises Home Values in U.S. Cities," just one more point on a home's WalkScore (computed by WalkScore.com) adds an estimated $5,260 to the price of a Chicago area home's value. That was the highest added value by far of the cities studied.

The next highest was San Francisco, with an average value increase of $2,985. And a WalkScore in the top 25 percentile added an estimated $31,562 to the price of a home in this area. While the study focused on sale prices, it noted that rent prices tend to follow sale prices.

That's good news for properties within a mile or so of city centers, train stations, bus stops, grocery stores and schools. And it's bad news for many of the newer homes built in far-flung subdivisions miles from the drug store, Junior's soccer practice, tuba lessons and the video game store.

A survey of 900 home sales in Austin, Texas, found that home prices rose $8,000 per mile the closer they were to the central business district. And for every minute saved on the owner's daily commute, $4,700 was added to average home values.

The report concludes that people will pay to live near other people and enjoy the mix of urban vibrancy, short blocks and diversity that all create what author Jane Jacobs (The Death and Life of Great American Cities) calls a "sidewalk ballet." That's a big turnaround from decades ago, when it was a sign of success if you could afford to flee the noisy, dirty and dangerous city.

To be fair, there are still some Chicago neighborhoods from which one might hope to flee, and there are suburbs with engaging streetscapes. And though the author seems to carefully explore the connection between walkability and home prices, the gauge of walkability was the Web site, WalkScore.com.

I want to love WalkScore.com, but I am still frustrated by its limitations. It uses Google Maps to find nearby walkable places, rate them for usefulness and give a home a score. But when I used it this week, it was still missing many locations on its walkable map, even though those places are in the Google map system.

That may not mean that it is over-rating Chicago values; in fact it might be under-rating them. Hard to say. Give it a try, have fun, and brag to your friends if your town has a score above 75/100.

WHAT ONLINE SHOPPERS REALLY WANT

Recent reports suggest that nearly 85 percent of home buyers start searching online. What are they looking for? According to Realtor.com, Chicago area shoppers are trying to find an incredible deal (read short sale or foreclosure) in a popular town.

All of the top listings on Realtor.com were under $319,900, and the majority of them were in the west and southwest suburbs. Three of the top nine were in Naperville and the bulk of them look like luxury mini-mansions that have fallen on hard times.

My personal favorite, based on photos, is the charming Sears home in Downers Grove. It has excellent curb appeal, plus it's in the village's walkable sweet spot -- three blocks from a train stop.

Here's what visitors viewed most in the past week:

1. 220 Burton Dr., Bartlett; $249,000; 4-bedroom estate home; short sale.

2. 25 Second St., Downers Grove; $275,000; 3-4 bedroom Sears home. Near train.

3. 24127 Merlot Lane, Plainfield; $299,900; 4 bedrooms, first floor master; 12 years old.

4. 24240 Eagle Chase Dr., Plainfield; $299,900; 5-bedroom plus den, 3-car garage, luxury home; short sale, "as is."

5. 21272 Longview Dr., Frankfort; $289,900; 4 bedrooms; short sale.

6. 104 Coventry Ct., Naperville; $300,000; 4 bedrooms; short sale.

7. 2207 Popple Ct., Naperville; $319,900; large luxury home sold "as is"; not financeable through traditional means.

8. 2720 N. 72nd Ct., Elmwood Park; $279,000; 4-bedroom brick Cape Cod.

9. 1120 Crimson Ct., Naperville; $245,000; 3-bedroom single family.

Find links to these properties at www.searchchicago.com/homes.

Kay Severinsen is editor of SearchChicago-Homes.

Color Photo: Bloomberg / A recent report concluded that people will pay more to live in vibrant, ubran areas. ;