Would Rapid Transit Access Boost Housing Prices in Royal Oak?

On the heels of a discussion on the future of public transit along the Woodward Avenue corridor comes a study released Thursday that found transit services, such as light rail, bolster housing prices.

“The real estate mantra of ‘location, location, location’ is more important than ever,” the study concluded. “Moving beyond the traditional arguments that good schools and neighborhood amenities impact housing prices, emerging research has indicated that urban form and transportation options have played a key role in the ability of residential properties to maintain their value since the onset of the recession.”

On Wednesday, transportation planners gave the Royal Oak Downtown Development Authority an update on the Woodward Rapid Transit Alternatives Analysis Study and the future of public transit, including enhanced buses, bus rapid transit and light rail.

[Read: Planners Present Rapid Transit Vision to City Officials]

"One of the goals for the Complete Streets Study for Woodward Avenue is to discuss and address the goals of the communities along the corridor with respect to multi-modal—transit, auto, walking, and biking—opportunities and how the adjacent neighborhoods will benefit from these transportation option enhancements." said transportation planner Barbara Arens, of Parsons Brinckerhoff, who represents the Woodward Avenue Action Association.

"Communities across the country have found that property values have increased due to buyers desires to be in close proximity to areas that are walkable, have higher density, have mixed uses and are close to transit," she said.

Homes with access to transit outperformed others, study says

The American Public Transportation Association and the National Association of Realtors commissioned the study, titled “The New Real-Estate Mantra: Location near Public Transportation,” to identify the benefits of transit and quantify its impact on housing prices.

The Center for Neighborhood Technology, which prepared the study, examined residential property values between 2006 and 2011 in five regions: Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Phoenix and San Francisco. Researchers compared the performance of home values in each region as a whole to the values of homes with access to transit.

Across the five regions, homes with access to transit outperformed others in their region by an average of 41.6 percent. Homes near heavy rail, light rail and bus rapid transit corridors held their value best.

“In addition to having higher frequency service and better transit connectivity, these types of fixed-guideway transit stations also tend to be located in areas that are more walkable, have higher residential density, and better access to jobs,” according to the report.

Click on the PDF to the right to read the full report.

Do you think rapid transit on Woodward Avenue would bolster housing prices in Royal Oak? Share your thoughts in the comments below.