Walk Scores Live on zillow.com

Earlier this year propertyportalwatch.com reported on a cool Walk Score functionality that several US portals were planning to introduce to their websites.

Walk Score is a project by Front Seat who describe themselves as “a civic software company and incubator”. They specialise in software that connects people to the places we live, the resources we consume, and our communities.

Walk Score works by calculating the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. This produces a ranking out of 100, ranging from 0-24 which is a rather dire ‘car dependent’ location to a magnificent 90-100, which is classed as a ‘Walkers’ Paradise’.

Walk Score launched in 2007 and has since calculated over 9 million Walk Scores.

US property valuation and portal zillow.com have announced that Walk Score’s functionality is now up and running on all home details pages on its website. On the company’s blog, they’ve also given a snapshot of Walk Scores for some key political addresses.

• The White House has a Walk Score of 97
• The new Bush home in Dallas has a Walk Score of 43
• Obama’s Chicago home has a Walk Score of 71
• Mitt Romney’s soon-to-be-for-sale home in Belmont, MA, has a Walk Score of 31

On the zillow.com blog, Drew Meyers writes: “Especially in major metro areas like Seattle, Portland, New York, and San Francisco, the walkability of a home is a big decision in figuring out which homes to look at — and ultimately, to purchase.”

The Walk Score rating system will eventually be added to over 85 million property listings, across several portals and real estate search engines in the US. These include ZipRealty.com, Postlets.com, REcolorado.com, ColoProperty.com, and others.

1. Walk Score Added to US Property Searches

   The economy, health and the environment are top of most people’s list of concerns, so what and what better way to save money while improving your health and the environment than by walking? Last week at Inman Real Estate Connect in New York it was revealed that a Walk Score rating system was being added to over 85 million property listings, across several portals and real estate search engines in the US. ...

2. Property Search by Transit Times

   US based civic software company Front Seat, has added an innovative new search function to its already impressive Walk Score application. The new Transit Time Maps will allow users to search a location’s transit time. This in turn opens the door for property search via commuting time....

3. fizber.com Introduces Drive Scores

   US For Sale By Owner portal fizber.com has added Drive Score to their home listings. Like the Walk Score application, which is increasing in popularity, it's a neighbourhood add-on that lets prospective buyers work out where their closest amenities are....

4. mynewplace.com Teams with Walk Score

   US rental apartments portal mynewplace.com has been working with Walk Score to create its new co-branded Walkable Apartments widget. The widget, which can be embedded in any blog or website, provides a search by city or zip code. By displaying results with a Walk Score, the widget shows property hunters how close an apartment is to shops, restaurants, schools, and other amenities....

5. WalkScore Releases iPhone App

   Not to be outdone by the many property portals releasing iPhone Apps, WalkScore have released one of their own....