There’s nothing like gasoline prices approaching, and then passing, the $4 mark to get people thinking about how and where they want to live.
Do they want the extra space that car-dependent, far-flung suburbs offer, regardless of the distance between home and work and the expense of filling up the tank more often and for more money?
In a recent Coldwell Banker survey of its agents, 75 percent said the recent rise in fuel prices had influenced their customers’ decisions about where to look for a home. Specifically, 89 percent said buyers were looking closer to their workplaces.
In other words, transit-oriented and location-efficient homes are hot, and with rising fuel prices, proximity to alternative commuting methods has become even more of a key selling point in the marketing of existing and new homes. It’s not just how many bedrooms and bathrooms a listing has; it’s how many minutes away is the commuter train or bus.
“Five years ago, the public transportation folks knew where to go. They didn’t ask questions when we sold them a home,” said Christine Lutz, senior vice president of Garrison Partners, which earlier this month took over sales and marketing of Van Buren Lofts in Chicago. “Now, I have to be more on point about how do these folks get to work. Seventy-five percent of people coming in are asking about alternate modes of transportation other than a car. I have to start learning the bus schedules, what color line is what.”
Lexington Homes is going through a sense of deja vu with its Lexington Park town-house community in Des Plaines that opened in 2008, the same year that prices at the pump first passed $4 a gallon.
Now, with three town-house buildings under construction at the development, the project’s proximity to public transportation, dining and shopping is being heavily touted. Lexington, like other builders, remains focused on infill development that’s easily accessible for commuters.
“These areas out in the fringes that were part of the boom are going to be quiet for a long time,” said Jeff Benach, Lexington’s co-principal.
Lutz noted one side benefit of talking to potential buyers about public transportation: It’s contagious. “I’ve started taking the ‘L,'” she said.
All this is music to the ears of groups like the Metropolitan Planning Council, the Chicago organization leading a Commute Options pilot program that is getting under way. The group, aiming to reduce the 71 percent of Chicago-area workers who drive to work alone each day, is recruiting 10 to 15 employers this year that would offer incentives to employees to make their work commutes less expensive and stressful and more energy-efficient.
The council hopes to identify the companies by year’s end and develop commuting plans tailored to each company’s workforce. Then after a year, the group will quantify whether commute times and greenhouse gases decreased while employee retention and fuel savings increased.
If the pilot project takes root, more homebuyers might have a better shot at finding the home of their dreams and a reasonable commute. “A lot of communities where people can afford to live in our region are not the places where there’s a thriving job market,” said council spokeswoman Mandy Burrell Booth. “In order to bridge that gap, we’re working with employers to give employees some options.
Neighbors working.
Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago is calling for volunteers for its 24th NeighborWorks Day on Saturday, to help the nonprofit clean up vacant lots, offer landscaping assistance and paint homes, fences and porches in Elgin and the eight Chicago neighborhoods where it offers services.
Activities include readying a wall for a community mural in the Back of the Yards/Garfield Boulevard neighborhood and doing home improvement projects for low-income homeowners in the Fox Valley/Elgin area. One Chicago neighborhood, Chicago Lawn/Gage Park, also is planning a “showcase of homes” for sale in the neighborhood.
For more information about the event, go to
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