Others have made this point on the blog, but it bears repeating and emphasizing: While home prices are getting hammered everywhere, they are falling fastest in neighborhoods located the farthest jobs. Long commutes are a killer. This comes from National Public Radio:
Economists say home prices are nowhere near hitting bottom. But even in regions that have taken a beating, some neighborhoods remain practically unscathed. And a pattern is emerging as to which neighborhoods those are.
The ones with short commutes are faring better than places with long drives into the city. Some analysts see a pause in what has long been inexorable — urban sprawl.
The Washington, D.C., metropolitan area has been hit hard. Prices tumbled an average of 11 percent in the past year. That’s the big picture. But a look at Ashburn, Va., about 40 miles from the center of town, finds a steeper fall.
In parts of the county, housing prices have dropped 18 percent over that same period. New construction has ground to a halt.
Realtor Danilo Bogdanovic surveyed two rows of neat, new, brick townhouses on Falkner’s Lane. “These were selling for about $550,000 at the peak, which was about August ’05, and they’re selling right now for about $350,000,” Bogdanovic said. “Fifty percent of this community has been ether foreclosed on or is facing foreclosure.”
For residents who work in the city, their commute is around an hour on trouble-free days. But that can extend upward toward two hours.