Gas Prices May Encourage More Walking

If you’re moving into a new neighborhood the ability to walk to destinations might be a determining factor when deciding where to live. Especially when you take into consideration the cost just to drive to the grocery store and back. A new Web site promises to help you figure out how walkable your neighborhood really is by rating how far you have to go on foot to do your errands and have a good time.

The Web site, Walk Score, sizes up the stores, restaurants, schools, parks and other destinations within walking distance of a given property and uses that information to calculate a walkability score between zero and 100.

Walk Score looks at the distance to walkable locations near an address, calculates a score for each location, and combines all of the scores into a single measurement. Walkscore creator, Matt Lerner said research shows that the average person is willing to walk less than a quarter mile to destinations they visit frequently, such as a grocery store.


The left column shows the closest location in each category, but is expandable to show all locations within walking distance. You can compare Walk Scores between neighborhoods to help determine an optimal place to live for your exercise needs.

As you can see above, the 810 W Fourth St condos in downtown Winston-Salem have a Walk Score of 77. But what does that mean? The web site provides this guide to help you interpret the numbers:

90 – 100: Walkers’ Paradise. Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
70 – 90: Very Walkable. It’s possible to get by without owning a car.
50 – 70: Some Walkable Locations. Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
25 – 50: Not Walkable. Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
0 – 25: Driving Only. Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

Eye Candy for House Hunters

Perhaps, in an effort to help make real estate search FUN, Trulia.com has alunched a new utility called Snapshot, powered by Microsoft Virtual Earth, that overlays housing data atop an interactive map that is nothing short of a visual treat.

The visual interface offers an alternative view of the homes currently listed for sale on trulia.com and allows users to customize the selected properties based on a price range or whether the listing is stale or fresh.

Users can search for any city in the USA & either click around the map, scroll the slider or just hit the big “play” button & sit back & just watch. Users can also click on a series of tabs to view “Most Expensive,” “Least Expensive,” “Newest” and “Oldest” properties. Scrolling the pointer over a property image displays the home’s address in large type and the amount of time that has passed since the property was listed.

US Home prices adjusted for inflation plotted as a roller coaster:

 

 Click here to view the graph full size in a new window.

All This For 6% Commission!?

Is it just too much to ask for a real estate agent to spend a couple hundred bucks on a decent point-and-shoot digital camera and a basic tripod? Common now! On the average house ($175-$199K) a real estate agent stands to gross about $6000.00.

I can’t help but be amazed at the substandard work which agents and sellers seem to be prepared to accept when it comes to photography. If you’ve spent any amount of time looking at homes on the internet, you’re already aware that there are far too many lousy and useless images out there.

Just for fun, here’s a video I found on YouTube featuring some really bad real estate photographs:

There is just no excuse for that kind of laziness.

Not when there are so many FREE resources to learn the skills necessary to do a professional job. Here’s one that might help:

This tutorial from the Photography For Real Estate website describes the 10 most important principles of creating effective real estate marketing photos.

Download the PDF Here.

 

Concerned about the downward spiral of house prices?

Don’t worry. As evidenced by this short 30 sec video, your local tax assessor thinks differently.

Enjoy!

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