Homebuyers look to cut commutes and fuel costs

Rural housing market could lose out to urban centers

By Rolf Boone | The Olympian • Published June 19, 2008

South Sound homebuyers are looking for houses closer to work, to cut the high cost of commuting brought on by record fuel prices, real estate agents and their customers said Wednesday.

It's another indication that skyrocketing fuel prices are driving major changes in the way U.S. residents live.

Keller Williams Realty associate broker Phil Harlan said gasoline prices and the cost of commuting are frequent concerns raised by prospective home buyers.

"It's definitely coming up more in the conversation," Harlan said.

A median-price home can be expensive for first-time buyers, so they tend to look for homes in rural areas of the county that might be more affordable, Harlan said.

"But when we talk about outlying areas, the transportation discussion comes up," he said.

Home prices

Northwest Multiple Listing Service data show that the median price of a home in Thurston County last month was $264,000.

Thurston Regional Planning Council senior planner Pete Swensson said home-buying decisions can change when consumers are faced with higher fuel prices.

A likely result is that the county's urban housing market could strengthen while the rural housing market softens, Swensson said.

Home Hunters Realty of Olympia broker Helen Wilkins agrees. She said that if gasoline prices continue to rise, it could result in a huge influx of people wanting to live closer to town.

"It's all about the cost of getting to work," Wilkins said. "We used to measure everything in miles and time, but now it's five gallons to the office."

Commutes

In 2006, more than 20,000 Thurston County residents were commuting to Pierce and King counties from homes here, according to TRPC data.

Brandon Chapman of Centralia, who recently relocated to the area from North Carolina, has been commuting 30 miles to work in Lacey for the past 45 days. He estimates his fuel costs at $250 a month.

While he would rather live in south Thurston County where his children might have more room to play, he is searching for a home in Lacey or Olympia because he can't afford the commute, Chapman said.

"We're going to be sacrificing land for gas," he said.

Laura and Craig Haff of Olympia made a similar decision, Laura Haff said.

The couple recently bought a house in Olympia after living in Steilacoom for four years.

Their first choice was to live in Yelm where they found a house for $183,000 with a really large yard.

The Haffs soon decided that Yelm, without a direct road to Fort Lewis, was too inconvenient for work and not close enough to shopping, Laura Haff said.

"It took forever to get anywhere, and if it takes forever, that costs more gasoline," she said.

Instead, they bought a house in the Tanglewilde neighborhood near Lacey, Haff said. Living near Interstate 5, it now takes her husband about 15 minutes to get to work, she said.

Marc Faucher of Lakewood said he is contemplating whether to buy a house in Tumwater and be closer to work.

He commutes 26 miles, spending about $350 a month on fuel. He has to decide whether to buy a more affordable home in Lakewood or pay slightly more money for a home in Tumwater and use the money he would save in fuel and apply it to the cost of his mortgage, Faucher said.

"Gas prices are going to keep going up and everybody is feeling the pinch," Faucher said. "If I could get rid of my car, I'd be happy."

Rolf Boone covers business for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5403 or rboone@theolympian.com.