How much is your 'other mortgage'?
by Kay Severinsen
What’s your tipping point?
That’s the big question that home sellers, transportation experts and planner types are starting to ask now that Americans are getting religion about our houses, our neighborhoods and our cars.
Back in 2000, gas was about $1.57 a gallon. Throughout metropolitan Chicago, people spent about the same amount of money on gasoline, no matter where they lived. Exceptions were people in Chicago who could ride the CTA and spend less on gas, and people out in Kendall County, who spent more to live in a rural area.
Fast forward to 2008. We’ll never forget those gas prices: $4.30 and up. On a set of side-by-side maps of Chicagoland at the Center for Neighborhood Technology web site (www.cnt.org), the 2008 map turns bright red as the average household spent $3,600 or more on gasoline (compared to $900 to $1,800 in comparable dollars in 2000).
When gas was $1.57 a gallon, few people considered the price of gas as part of their home costs. But at $4.30, suddenly houses that were close to work or a train line became more valuable. They also save their owners valuable time – car commuters lose more than an hour a week to traffic jams.
A survey released last month by RE/MAX of Northern Illinois has found that in the past year, home buyers and sellers may have decided that homes near train stops are worth more than they used to be. Even though gas prices are back down below $3 a gallon, last year’s memories have tipped some of us over into the “drive less” mindset.
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