Do sidewalks increase a neighborhoods value?
Question:Neighbors all disagree, some say sidewalks help value, others say it decreases value. What's the truth?
Answers:
Not as a realtor, but as a homeowner who has lived in various neighborhoods over decades (at least 5 of them), I can tell you that well kept sidewalks increase the value of homes tremendously. I can't tell you that they increase the monetary value of a home or neighborhood, but I can tell you, having lived in various homes across Texas, with and without sidewalks, that I'd much rather have sidewalks, and have them built well, and maintained well by the homeowners (like edging the lawn around them and not leaving kids toys or garden hoses strewn all over them) than not, and have them located a couple of feet in from the street and not just the kind that are nothing more than an extension of the curb and gutter. It seems to give the residences a more "homey" appeal to them, like a comfortable and respectable place to live. Again, a lot of it depends on how well they were built, and how well the home owners keep them neat and clean. Just my opinion after over 50+ years living in various homes throughout Texas, and a couple of other States for short stints. God Bless you.
It depends on your needs. I'd prefer to live in a rural environment, though street drainage can be a problem without gutters and sidewalks.
I was happy to grow up with sidewalks, because that's how we learned how to roller skate, ride bikes, and jump the cracks (for the sake of our mother's backs.)
Now the kids are grown and I'd just as soon have a couple hundred acres of south facing hillside to grow wine grapes. Take what you can get, and roll with it. Whatever, sidewalks have to work with the rest of the neighborhood and the lifestyle of the resident or they won't necessarily add value.
However, with people living longer, and sales of walkers increasing, I would expect people will consider them necessities in the near future.
theres not much worse that i hate to see than a young mother pushing her baby's stroller up the road because the sidewalks are in such disrepair or non-existent that she cant use them...so i say put the sidewalks in and keep them in good shape...
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