Recently the Urban Land Institute announced results of an interesting study and the launch of a website, http://bostonregionalchallenge.org/, where customers can calculate costs of transportation and housing for each city and town in the region.
The report claims that when driving and other transportation costs are added to housing costs there is rarely a sufficient savings to the consumer who chooses to live outside the city. People who move to an outlying Boston suburb to find affordable housing or to get more house for their money often sacrifice the savings to higher transportation costs.
In Boston, residents spend an above-average chunk of their income on housing (41%), but the comparatively low cost of transportation puts the combined housing and transportation burden in that city at 56%.
One out of every four communities in the study area listed below has a combined housing and transportation cost that exceeds 58 percent of median household income, which the report describes as an extreme burden.
THIS MEANS LIVING IN THE CITY COULD POSSIBLY SAVE YOU 2%!!!!
Consider your quality of life and the environment before you choose your home.
Study areas included Cambridge, Dracut, Stoughton and Brookline.
Taken from an article on Boston.com, April 12, by Eric Moskowitz, Globe staff
Cabot Tip!
If you live in the city save money by using Zipcar!
Get rid of the car, parking space and insurance!
Clean, fun cars to rent by the hour or day!
The Pulse is a new format where we will endeavor to give Boston real estate market feedback every week. Our customers seem to want to know what is happening all the time these days, hoping to discern trends. I think the real estate market has become more like the stock market in this regard. People love to watch their stocks on a daily basis and I think we have reached the point where people want to know how their real estate investments are doing even if they have no intention of selling or buying.
