Single-Family Housing Value Resilience of Walkable Versus Unwalkable Neighborhoods During a Market Downturn: Causal Evidence and Policy Implications.

Abstract

This study investigated the resilience of single-family housing values in walkable versus unwalkable neighborhoods during the economic downturn from 2008 to 2012 in Dallas, Texas. Using propensity score matching and difference in differences methods, this study established a natural experimental design to compare before-and-after value changes of single-family (SF) homes in walkable neighborhoods with unwalkable neighborhoods during the Great Recession. Two thousand seven hundred ninety-nine SF homes within 18 Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts were categorized into walkable (Walk Score ≥50) and unwalkable (<50) groups. Six hundred twenty-four dwellings in walkable neighborhoods were matched with the most identical ones in the unwalkable neighborhoods by controlling for the selected structural and residential location variables. Relative average treatment effects were examined for SF values in walkable and unwalkable neighborhoods. On average, the SF homes in walkable neighborhoods held $4566 (2.08%) more value than their how walkable counterparts. This study aims to help planners and decision-makers by documenting the unmet demand for walkable communities and their sustained economic benefit. Increased awareness of the sustained value of walkable communities can be used by lenders who finance and by policy makers who regulate placemaking. Results from this study can be integrated with research that demonstrates health-care cost savings of walkable environments to create an even more comprehensive set of evidence-based interventions to increase their supply.