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| Sunday, June 22, 2008 |
| House hunting in the age of $4 gas |
The Boston Globe article: House hunting in the age of $4 gas looks at how rising gas prices are impacting where people want to live. Gas cost just over $2 a gallon in October 2006 when Derek Benoit bought his condominium in Amesbury in the far northeastern corner of the state. Now he's trying to sell the unit, even though he just finished renovating it.
With gas now $4 a gallon, the software executive is no longer willing to pour $500 worth into his tank each month, an expense he attributes mainly to his 34-mile commute each way to work in Wilmington, or farther, to Logan International Airport for out-of-town meetings. He is looking to buy a home closer to his employer and the airport.
"I love, love, love my place, so it's bittersweet," Benoit said. But the commute is "just getting too expensive." |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 12:20 PM *
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| 6 Comments: |
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I don't think this guy has thought through this move. Has he looked into public transportation, or geting a new car, or a motocycle to save money on gas? Because he is going to lose a lot on the condo in comparison to what gas costs
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Tomorrow we close on a house that's less than 2 miles from my husband's office and a block from a park and a library... not to mention less than a mile from two grocery stores and LOTS of restaurants. We started looking nearly a year ago, when gas prices were still relatively reasonable, and we looked as far as 40 miles away, but ultimately decided on this one.
We got it for much less than the listing price of many we saw in the outer 'burbs that were not as nice, or as big. It will be interesting to see if that trend reverses in the coming months.
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We just looked at a house yesterday in metroWest Boston. We rent now (sold in December in western MA) and are looking. This house is within walking distance to 2 grocery stores and a coffee shop, a town common, and public transportation that would take us to a commuter rail station within 10 minutes on a bus.
It's more than we want to spend, and needs some updating, but it's also far less than other comparable homes precisely because it's quite close to Route 9, which is a "negative" now. We think long term it will switch to being a positive (the walkability) and are seriously considering making an offer based simply on the premise that energy costs WILL go up, period, unless we have substantial renewable energy investment from government and private industry (and individuals, of course).
Our RE agent said she's hearing people ask for smaller homes more and more--larger homes are sitting longer. Heating bills are the first thing that comes to mind; who has $1000/month to spend on oil to heat a 3500 sf home? Who wants to spend that kind of money?
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I once left a house I loved to move closer to work. I did not account for the fact that the area I moved to sucked. I spent more money trying to cheer myself up. After a year I moved back to the house I loved (lucky I had rented it, not sold it). I will never do that again. Stick to the place you love & seek alternatives.
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If he loves his condo so much, he should trade in his car, not his house.
I have a 32 mile commute each way, and spend under $200/month in gas. My car gets close to 40 mpg.
I assume, if he's trading in the house, he has additional reasons, or drives in addition to his commute (I haven't read the full article yet).
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I don't think this guy has thought through this move. Has he looked into public transportation, or geting a new car, or a motocycle to save money on gas? Because he is going to lose a lot on the condo in comparison to what gas costs