Walkability
Learn about walkability in Canadian real estate — how it’s measured, why it matters to buyers, and how it enhances neighbourhood value.
June 23, 2025
What is Walkability?
Walkability refers to how friendly an area is to walking, measured by the accessibility of amenities, safety, sidewalk infrastructure, and overall urban design.
Why Walkability Matters in Real Estate
In Canadian real estate, walkability enhances neighbourhood desirability and supports higher property values, particularly in urban centres or transit-adjacent communities.
Factors that influence walkability:
- Proximity to stores, schools, and transit
- Safe pedestrian crossings and sidewalks
- Mixed-use development and street connectivity
- Lighting, landscaping, and traffic calming measures
Walkability scores, such as those provided by Walk Score®, are increasingly used in property listings and development marketing.
Understanding walkability helps homebuyers, renters, and investors evaluate lifestyle, transportation savings, and resale potential.
Example of Walkability in Action
The condo’s high walkability score is a major draw for buyers seeking a car-free lifestyle close to downtown restaurants and transit lines.
Key Takeaways
- Indicates how pedestrian-friendly an area is
- Linked to property value and livability
- Influenced by access to services and transit
- Common in real estate marketing
- Favours car-free or low-commute lifestyles
National average resale-price growth and housing-starts growth, smoothed over three months. The comparison illustrates the cycle; it does not establish how much a price change causes construction to change.
Trailing 12-month starts in centres of 50,000 or more remove the usual monthly seasonality. Ownership combines the homeowner and condominium categories; rental is shown separately.
Six-month averages of provincial starts, expressed at annual rates. The smoothing reduces the influence of individual apartment projects.
The same August benchmark compared with two different starting points. Three-month changes are not annualized.
Average sale prices show the difference in purchase costs across markets. They do not measure affordability relative to local incomes or construction costs.
Newfoundland and Labrador remains above its pre-pandemic sales pattern, but August activity was below last year. Historical lines retain their original release vintages.
Average and median describe different aspects of the same month’s transactions. Both are affected by the mix of homes sold.
Category averages compare different homes and locations; the gaps are not estimates of the cost to upgrade an otherwise identical property.
The five categories shown account for 5,000 of the board’s 5,057 sales. The remaining 57 transactions were in other housing categories.
Monthly observations are not seasonally adjusted. Active listings count properties available at month-end; they are not construction inventory.
Average and median prices share one dollar axis. These unadjusted transaction measures do not control for changes in the homes sold.
TRREB’s 416/905 categories compare the apartments sold in each area. The difference does not isolate a location premium for equivalent units.
5680 Oak Street in Vancouver and its surrounding context. (MCMP Architects)
Ground-level renderings of the tower proposed for 5680 Oak Street in Vancouver. (MCMP Architects)
