Trick-or-Treat Housing Index: Top 5 Seattle Neighborhoods
By: Whitney Tyner, Zillow PR Specialist | October 26, 2009
Where is the best place to trick-or-treat in your area?
As real estate data geeks and candy lovers, we here at Zillow decided to combine our passions and create the inaugural Zillow Trick-or-Treat Housing Index to help Seattle residents (where Zillow is located) determine the best overall neighborhoods to trick-or-treat this Halloween. Behold the list:
Top 5 Seattle Neighborhoods to Trick-or-Treat
1. Wallingford
2. Queen Anne
3. Magnolia
4. University District
5. Capitol Hill
Methodology
There is a common belief that wealthy neighborhoods are the Holy Grail for harvesting the most Halloween candy. However, to provide a more holistic approach to Halloween trick-or-treating, the Zillow Trick-or-Treat Housing Index was calculated using four equally weighted data variables: Zillow Home Value Index, population density, Walk Score, and local crime data. Based on those variables, this Index represents neighborhoods that will provide the most candy, with the least walking, and minimum safety risks.
Surprised that some of the high-end, iconic Seattle neighborhoods (Windermere, Broadmoor, Madison Park) that we all know and covet are not on the list? While homeowners in these prestigious ‘hoods may pass out a king-sized Snickers here and there, the homes are more spread out with long driveways and gates, thus not very conducive to kids traveling by foot.
Halloween Hot Spots
Wallingford offers the most bang-for-the-knock on Halloween night. The quirky neighborhood full of old Craftsman bungalows is home to residents of all ages, from retirees and college students, to young families with children. Wallingford has easy access to many restaurants, grocery stores, and theaters along 45th street. The ‘hood scored in the top ten percent for both walkability and density.
Queen Anne and Magnolia are both affluent, family-friendly communities with gorgeous homes and small-town charm, plus a bustling main street business district. The Zillow Home Value Index for both neighborhoods is over half a million dollars.
The University District ranked number one on our Index for walkability, thus catapulting the urban ‘hood the to the top of the Index. Home to college students, professors, and resilient long time residents — the area has lots of homes in a compact area and offers trick-or-treaters of all ages a large ROI on Halloween night.
While some may think residents of Capitol Hill treat every day as Halloween (think, Broadway after dusk) the neighborhood offers trick-or-treating fun for kids of all ages. The neighborhood is both affluent and dense, with a Zillow Home Value Index of $560,700.
In summary, remember to trick-or-treat in a safe, nice enough neighborhood with lots of homes on the block, and few spooky creatures looming in the shadows.
See the Zillow Trick-or-Treat Housing Index for:
- Stumble it!
- Categories: Real Estate Oddities
Comments
30 Comments so far
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David Mana on October 26, 2009 11:38 am
This is great stuff! Now, can you please put together one of these for Phoenix?
Lately, I’ve just been one of the folks handing out handfuls of candy to the cute little ones who come by, but it sure would be nice to get out of the house for a night on the town… especially this year since Halloween will be on a Saturday!
Whitney Tyner on October 26, 2009 11:47 am
Thanks David! This is the first year Zillow has produced the Trick-or-Treat Housing Index. Next year we hope to add more cities to the list.
jseattle on October 26, 2009 3:04 pm
As an early pioneer of Halloween candy handout analysis, I applaud this effort but would like to check your work! Where’s the dataset?
F.B on October 26, 2009 5:53 pm
Sounds like you aren’t really aware of what goes on around Capitol Hill. If you did, it would be #1 easily.
natalie danielson on October 26, 2009 8:44 pm
Wow.. this is so fantastic… and funny,. and egads,. if I was in wallingford i’d be heading to the store to stock up on candy!
What about the eastside… or bellevue?
And when people click.. voila .. there are homes for sale…
PumpkinHead on October 27, 2009 12:24 am
Agree with F.B. 17th Ave on Cap Hill *has* to be the epicenter of Halloween. You routinely get 1000+ trick/treaters there. It’s hard to believe until you hand out the 1000 pieces of candy your self.
Crowdsourcing Your Candy This Halloween | Mobile Phone Downloads Blog on October 27, 2009 12:37 am
[...] Index, which draws on the site’s real estate data to determine the top-five neighborhoods in Seattle and Los Angeles to maximize candy intake this [...]
Cassie on October 27, 2009 7:38 am
Awesome! Can’t wait to hit up Wallingford ASAP!
Cassie on October 27, 2009 7:41 am
So excited to hit up Wallingford this year!
All Points Blog on October 27, 2009 7:56 am
Halloween Geo News Blitz!…
First off, MapQuest’s PR firm shares (Mapquest blog):
MapQuest makes finding the closest Haunted Houses easy with its new ghost icon search button within the On-Map Search Tool (located on the right hand side of the map). Users simply click on the ic…
Kelley Face on October 27, 2009 9:40 am
Yay! Go Queen Anne, I’ll definitely be handing out candy at our house. Great post Whitney- so creative, I found it because of the story linked on the Queen Anne View Blog.
Wallingford Halloween Epic Win | Wallyhood on October 27, 2009 10:07 am
[...] density, Walk Score, and local crime data into their cauldron and have determined that the the Number Neighborhood in Seattle for Trick or Treating is…Wallingford! Wallingford offers the most bang-for-the-knock on Halloween night. The quirky neighborhood full of [...]
Wallyhood on October 27, 2009 10:38 am
And come see WHY Wallingford wins:
http://www.wallyhood.org/2009/10/wallingford-halloween-epic-win/
Full list of Wallingford trick-or-treating activities, including the house you and your kids MUST visit.
Wallyhood on October 27, 2009 10:39 am
@JSeattle Awww…you’re just bitter because WE WIN!
Kellie on October 27, 2009 1:54 pm
Magnolia is gangster “Magtown”
Tracy on October 27, 2009 8:22 pm
Any suggestions for the eastside? Just can’t make the over-lake trek, especially if it’s pouring rain!
children's hospital yes on October 28, 2009 8:16 am
U District…are you serious? How is U District safe? Did you mean Ravenna? Because U District is far from safe and there aren’t even any actual houses there…they’ve all been converted into apartments…
Maximizing Your Halloween Candy Haul with Zillow - The Cheapskate Blog - TIME.com on October 28, 2009 10:01 am
[...] a WSJ blog says, Zillow only names the best neighborhoods for trick-or-treating in two cities: Seattle and Los [...]
Zillow Creates Trick-or-Treat Housing Index, Seriously! | RealPro Training & Consulting, LLC on October 28, 2009 11:30 am
[...] tipping my hat to Spencer for the entertainment value even if the ‘index’ is limited to Seattle (Zillows location) and Los [...]
Zillow Creates Trick-or-Treat Housing Index, Seriously! | Hestia Financial, Inc. on October 28, 2009 11:35 am
[...] tipping my hat to Spencer for the entertainment value even if the ‘index’ is limited to Seattle (Zillows location) and Los [...]
Trick-or-Treat, Zillow Style : Speaking of Real Estate on October 28, 2009 12:27 pm
[...] to maximize on Snickers and Milky Way bars this Halloween? Zillow.com has put together a guide to the best homes in Seattle and Los Angeles for trick-or-treaters based [...]
‘CandySniffer’ iPhone app for Halloween? on October 28, 2009 8:23 pm
[...] scored a nice Wall Street Journal hit, along with 300+ references in Google News, for its inaugural “Trick-or-Treat Housing Index.” Timing of its October 26 blog post was excellent, with ample time to spread virally [...]
Seattle and LA Residents: Get Your Trick or Treat On | Candy Dish Blog on October 29, 2009 7:02 am
[...] reading a little further I learned that they only indexed Seattle and Los Angles … but maybe they will go even further next year. And if you are lucky enough [...]
CostumeFly on October 29, 2009 4:15 pm
Any suggestions for the east side?
vacciniumovatum on October 29, 2009 8:25 pm
They must mean Ravenna instead of University District. I live in Bryant (a sub-neighborhood) and people drive their kids here from other neighborhoods so they can trick-or-treat where I live. Of course, being safe, dense, and near one of the top elementary schools in the city doesn’t hurt…
CostumeFly on October 30, 2009 12:33 am
I just forwarded this article to my friends and they love it. Looks like its going viral.
Five Under $25 | The Ladies Room on October 30, 2009 9:20 am
[...] When: Saturday Where: 5 Seattle Neighborhoods Price: FREE! More info HERE [...]
Welcome to the 164th edition of Carnival of Real Estate brought to you from Nicaragua. « International real estate in Central America on November 2, 2009 11:03 am
[...] our work to help buyers get to grips with the local market. Se we appreciated Whitney Tyner’s Trick-or-Treat Housing Index: Top 5 Seattle Neighborhoods posted at Zillow Blog which lists neighborhoods that “provide the most candy, with the least [...]
Seattle Photographer on November 15, 2009 8:25 pm
I wonder how well this data would correlate to other services?
Pallet Stacker on November 17, 2009 9:57 am
Where was data like this when I was a kid?