Build Magazine June 2015

Build Magazine 39 Realtors® from across the US gathered last month to learn about the impor- tance and benefits of walkable urban communities in real estate develop- ment during a panel organised by the REALTOR® University Richard J. Rosenthal Centre for Real Estate Stud- ies during the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo. “Creating walkability with restaurants and stores can help transition an edgy part of town into one that is hip and hopping with pedestrians,” said National Asso- ciation of Realtors® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “This type of real estate development transforms the community for the better.” Residential walkable communities gener- ate four times the tax revenue compared to regional and business malls, bringing more value to the area, according to panellists. “Walkable urban regions in the U.S. have a 41percent higher Gross Domestic Product over non-walkable regions,” said Christopher Leinberger, professor at George Washington University School of Business and president of Locus, a national coalition of real estate devel- opers and investors who advocate for sustainable, walkable urban develop- ment in metropolitan areas. “That’s the difference between countries like Germany and Romania.” Walkable areas provide financial benefits not only to the community but also to the individuals living there. Despite the rising prices commonly frequently seen in walkable areas, those communities are inherently more affordable since in- dividuals living in walkable areas usually spend about 43 percent of their income on housing and transportation, as opposed to those living in non-walkable areas, who spend about 48 percent. “If a family can get rid of one car, they can increase their mortgage capacity by as much as $150,000,” said Leinberger. The panellists also discussed the im- portance of looking at current zoning regulations in major cities and how those regulations could be slowing down the development of walkable places. The panellists all agreed that the lack of development could be holding back economic growth. “We’ve been bumping along at 2 percent GDP growth, and we should be at 3.5 percent, and obsolete zon- ing is what is holding us back,” said Leinberger. “Less than 10 percent of land would need to be rezoned, and that is where 80 percent of the development is going to go.” The National Association of Real- tors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the resi- dential and commercial real estate industries. The Richard J. Rosenthal Centre for Real Estate Studies is a think tank/real estate research laboratory designed to provide timely hands-on and results oriented real estate data and analysis relevant to industry trends and policy issues from a practical standpoint and provides high quality practical research that raises the credibility and profile of Realtors®. “If a family can get rid of one car, they can increase their mortgage capacity by as much as $150,000,” Jannis Tobias Werner / Shutterstock.com Real Estate