Saturday Stats: Downtown San Jose Ranked as the Second Most Affordable Neighborhood with a High WalkScore in the Bay Area

We all know that the Downtown San Jose region has an excellent WalkScore, and it is likely to only get better in the future as more retail, residential, and transit options are brought Downtown. In this latest study, Downtown ranks as the second most affordable region in the Bay Area with a high WalkScore. Emeryville came in 1st and Albany came in 3rd. I also think they looked at the greater Downtown region and not the core. There are many places Downtown (like around The 88) that have a WalkScore of 99 or 100. See below for the full press release.

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ZipRealty Ranks the Most Walkable Cities
With the Most Affordable Homes Near San FranciscoEmeryville tops the list with median home sales prices averaging less than $400,000.

EMERYVILLE, Calif., July 23, 2013 – ZipRealty, Inc. (http://www.ziprealty.com) (NASDAQ: ZIPR), the leading online residential real estate brokerage and technology provider, has teamed up with Walk Score to rank the most walkable cities with the most affordable homes near San Francisco. To create the list, ZipRealty analyzed data provided by WalkScore.com for each city in the nine-county Bay Area combined with ZipRealty’s own knowledge of current median home sales prices to produce a walkability/affordability ratio. All three of the communities ranked by ZipRealty have a Walk Score of 70 or higher, which means they are “Very Walkable,” according to Walk Score. The Walk Score ratings used in this study are calculated by assessing the walkability of approximately every block across a city or neighborhood, and may vary slightly by specific addresses.

“One of the allures of living in San Francisco is the city’s beautiful and convenient walkability, and that appeal is well-reflected in its lofty real estate prices. With that in mind, we wanted to provide interested home buyers with more affordable options with great walkability beyond the city’s borders,” says CEO and President Lanny Baker. “According to our partner Walk Score, San Francisco is the second-most walkable large city in the United States, behind New York City,” he notes. “In the local study we conducted, the most walkable and affordable communities were quite surprising alternatives to the high average price in San Francisco, which currently exceed $1 million.”

“Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live across the country and throughout the world,” says Walk Score CEO Josh Herst. Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100 that measures the walkability of any address, whether it’s a single-family home or rental apartment. To calculate city- or neighborhood-level scores, the company calculates the Walk Score of approximately every block across a city or neighborhood (points spaced roughly 500 feet apart) and then weights the Walk Score of each point by population density. Therefore, the walkability ranking reflects where people actually reside, so that cities don’t have lower scores due to green spaces or bodies of water, for instance.

The top three most walkable cities outside of San Francisco with the most affordable homes are:

City                                            Median Price                               Walk Score
1) Emeryville (City Center)                           $388,888                                         80

2) Downtown San Jose                               $508,450                                         74

3) Albany                                                   $622,500                                        86

While median home prices of $380,000-625,000 in Emeryville, San Jose and Albany are high relative to average U.S. prices, which stood at $280,500 in the 24 metro areas surveyed by ZipRealty as of June 30, those local home prices are relatively affordable compared to the Bay Area median home price of $620,000. “You can buy a home priced well under the Bay Area median home price average in the cities we ranked, and these places are all very walkable,” Mr. Baker adds.

“There is a natural and strong affinity between Walk Score and ZipRealty, which is why we have long been partners,” says Mr. Baker. “At ZipRealty, we are committed to delivering all the information, tools and expert advice serious real estate consumers need, including an accurate and comprehensive database of homes listed for sale, all the tools within our Seller Center and easy and direct access to well-informed local real estate agents. Meanwhile, Walk Score helps people make informed choices about the walkability and commutability of the neighborhoods in which they might reside. In fact, on all of the homes listed for sale on ZipRealty.com, we have published each home’s Walk Score just below the home’s ‘Go See This Home/Request More Info’ call-to-action buttons,” Mr. Baker says.

“The trend in urban areas is moving toward less dependency on cars and a greater commitment to live more sustainably,” says Mr. Herst. “Furthermore, people in walkable neighborhoods weigh six to 10 pounds less than those who don’t. Walk Score has also done extensive research showing that walkable places make people happier and healthier. Finally, short commutes reduce stress levels and give people more free time to be involved in their communities.”

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