Traffic Town Trending Toward Transit

Los Angeles is known for its traffic congestion, but its share of for-sale real estate listings including terms like "subway" and "metro" has doubled since 2013, according to new research.

Trulia's data show that these listings are especially concentrated along L.A.’s Metro rail lines, set for expansion with a $120 billion investment. The real estate site adds that listings who include these keywords sell at a premium, about 4.2 percent higher than similar listings without the transit terms. The top quarter of listings have an average "price penalty" of 10.5 percent, according to the study.

The share of Los Angeles County listings on Trulia mentioning transit-related keywords rose from 2.3 percent in 2013 to 4.5 percent last year, according to a Trulia analysis, a still-small but rapidly growing fraction that coincides with ongoing improvements in the city’s transit network. And in all but the most-expensive market segment (price quartile), homes overtly boasting of nearby transit access sell for about 4.2 percent more, on average, than similar-sized homes that don’t.

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