Skyrocketing gas prices have affected many areas of our everyday lives. Consumers have been used to prices going up for years but not any where close to recent rates. I was excited over the weekend to fill up at the Safeway in the Kirkland/Kingsgate area for $4.26. Wow, talk about a change of thinking from just a few months ago! Yesterday, I filled my small Element’s tank of gas and it still cost me almost $50…for a little tiny Element!

People always wondered at what point people would say “enough is enough” and now we know…$4. People are finally starting to change the way they live their everyday lives. This is not necessarily a bad thing…just quite a difference from how things were over the past several years. One area that we don’t always think about gas prices really affecting is the housing market. However, recent surveys indicate that gas prices actually help some areas while severely hurting others.

I find this to be very true. If you live in a community with a strong business force…like Redmond, Bellevue, or downtown Seattle…home prices hold up fairly well. However, people are looking closer to the cities to save money on gas making the communities that used to be a “reasonable commute” seem more unreasonable now. The newspaper this morning reported how Microsoft has added a record number of jobs over the past year. This only goes to strengthen those communities as more and more people need to move close. Thankfully, Microsoft has added helpful services like the Connector bus.

In farther out communities like Bothell (where I live) some pockets seem to do well while others struggle. For example, the North Creek area still has held up fairly well…I believe for two reasons: 1) Many homes are within walking distance or a 5 minute drive to where Microsoft’s Connector bus picks them up, and 2) the North Creek Business Parks as well as the Canyon Creek Business Park provides many local jobs. I know many people who have chosen to move closer to these business parks or request to live near the Connector bus…primarily to save money and time on commuting.

With gas prices a primary concern…I believe that it is more important than ever to build a strong local business community. Each community should be able to support its own residents so that people don’t have to travel to seek the resources they require. A strong community will help the home prices stay stronger in a difficult economy.

Just the other day I was talking to someone who was commuting from Orting to Microsoft but was now desperate to move closer. I couldn’t even picture exactly how far away Orting was but knew this was quite a commute. He was now hoping to buy a condo in downtown Seattle figuring that even with the higher home price he could a) get the lifestyle he preferred and b) save thousands of dollars on gas prices and time!

My prediction is that as gas prices continue to rise and the economy continues to slide you will see more and more people concerned about location and commute during their purchases. People who used to be fine with a 30-60 minute commute will want to shorten that as much as possible…and why not when you can get a house closer to work for the same amount of money you were spending on gas each month.

Anyways…summer is officially here in about 4 hours and what a gorgeous day. I’m excited for this busy weekend. Enjoy your first day of summer!

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!


This entry was posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 12:34 pm and is filed under Market Conditions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.