Property near public transportation worth 42% more
WASHINGTON – March 22, 2013 – Location, location, location. A new study by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) finds that residential property values performed 42 percent better on average if near public transportation with high-frequency service.
“Transportation plays an important role in real estate and housing decisions, and the data suggests that residential real-estate near public transit will remain attractive to buyers going forward,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “A sound transportation system not only benefits individual property owners, it also creates the foundation for a community’s long-term economic well being.”
“It’s the equivalent of creating housing as desirable as beachfront property,” says APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy. “This study shows that consumers are choosing neighborhoods with high-frequency public transportation because it provides access to up to five times as many jobs per square mile as compared to other areas in a given region.”
The study, “The New Real-Estate Mantra: Location near Public Transportation,” investigated how residential properties located in a half-mile proximity to high-frequency public transportation or in the “public transit shed” performed in holding their value during the recession compared to other properties in the area.
While residential property values declined substantially from 2006 to 2011, properties close to public transit showed stronger resiliency.
The following are a few examples from the study: In Boston, residential property in the rapid transit area outperformed other properties in the region by an incredible 129 percent. In the Chicago public transit area, home values performed 30 percent higher than the region; in San Francisco, 37 percent higher; Minneapolis-St. Paul, 48 percent; and in Phoenix, 37 percent higher.
The study looked at five regions. High-frequency public transportation includes subway (heavy rail), light rail and bus rapid transit. This sample projects the nationwide average (42 percent) variance among properties located near high-frequency public transportation and those that are located further away from public transit.
