Green Acres Is The Place For Affordable Housing
Recent studies have shown that homeowners are moving farther and farther away from metro areas, a trend that is primarily credited to the search for affordable housing. Take, for example, the Dallas metro area, where the median home price is $300,000. Pretty steep digs, MSN points out, compared to the $151,000 median home price 30 miles away in Fort Worth or the $204,000 median home price 20 miles away in Plano.
MSN also offers the example of San Francisco. There, the average home price was $1.45 million in 2007, whereas a 13-mile trip to Oakland offers homes for $955,000 and a 25-mile trip to Walnut Creek lowered the median price even further to $874,000.
Yes, commuting seems to be the norm. Some even view it as a relaxing “alone time” to collect thoughts and mentally prepare for or unwind from the day. Others view it as an eco-friendly solution for global warming. With ever increasing options in the public transportation arena, commuters find that they can reduce carbon emissions, save money and have a little hands-free time to look over office paperwork.
Most homeowners, however, view commuting as a necessary evil, a means to an end. Whether it’s better schools, more spacious lots, lower crime or simply more house for the money, homeowners are doing some serious commuting to get it — up to three hours one way in some cases. In fact, nearly two million Americans commute at least an hour and a half each way, according to MSN. Of course, UC-Davis civil engineering professor Patricia Mokhtarian points out that the trend has been developing for a long time as housing prices have generally been on a steady incline.
“We’ve seen decentralization for decades now,” Mokhtarian tells MSN Finance. “People are having to travel further away not just to have a house but to have a three-bedroom house with a yard that we can afford.”
