Commuting costs are an increasingly important factor to homebuyers nationwide, according to the Home Buyer and Seller profile released this fall by the National Association of Realtors. But here in Eastern Massachusetts, as one moves further away from Boston the increase in commuting costs are generally more than offset by the savings in housing costs.
According to the report, 29 percent of buyers considered commuting costs very important to them. Another 39 percent said it was somewhat important to them. In contrast, the Greater Boston real estate agents contacted for this story said they’d never heard a buyer mention the financial cost of commuting as a concern when choosing a community in which to live.
New research from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, illustrates why that may be. The Warren Group created a map of the median price of a single-family home within the towns and cities with commuter rail stops (an interactive version of the map is available on Banker & Tradesman’s website). Though the cost of monthly commuter rail passes grows from $84.50 to $398.25 as one moves further from Boston, mortgage payments drop even faster.
Commuting Time Counts More Than Cost
as buyers move their home search further from hubs like Boston and Worcester, the cost of a home drops precipitously, making the increased cost of commuting negligible, said Dan Meservey of Matthieu Newton Sotheby’s in Westborough.
“I have a lot of buyers who start out looking in towns like Newton or Needham,” Meservey said, “but they buy in Westborough for a more comfortable mortgage and don’t mind adding 10-15 minutes to their commute. It isn’t a big issue. Sometimes they talk about the length of time their commute will take, but I’ve never heard it brought up as a financial matter. It gets offset a lot by the cost of real estate.”
It stands to reason: a commuter rail pass for travel between Needham and South Station costs $217.75 per month. The MBTA’s schedule shows the trip takes between 38 and 46 minutes.
From Westborough, the trip takes an hour and 15 minutes and costs $336.50 per month. The difference in time and money is significant, but it’s more than offset by the difference in the cost of housing. The median home price in Needham is $858,000. In Westborough, it’s $459,950.
Driving in from Westborough or Needham during rush hour can take anywhere from an hour to two hours, depending on the timing. While driving into Boston is generally less expensive than the commuter rail, the cost of parking in the city makes it more expensive. Plus, the commuter rail offers free Wi-Fi, which can make longer commutes more bearable, if not always pleasant.
Slightly longer commutes can result in big savings. On the Worcester/Framingham line, the median single-family home price in Natick is $530,500 – less than half the cost of homes four minutes down the track near the Wellesley Square stop, according to The Warren Group. On the Fitchburg line, the median price of a single-family home in West Concord is $300,000 more than it is four minutes west in South Acton.
Millennials Continue The Trend
Younger, first-time buyers commuting to the Boston area for higher salaries are more concerned about living near a commuter rail station to avoid the need to drive to work than the cost of said commute, said David Brooks, an agent in Fitchburg for 15 years.
“It’s more cost-effective to go with the train to North Fitchburg,” Brooks said. “I don’t hear that it’s a big financial burden. With the high-speed train they implemented this fall, it’s quicker, so that’s a big plus even with the storms.”
Getting used to a commute after living in the city can take some time, according to Shannon Jones of William Raveis in Andover, but it’s the added time, not cost, that buyers have trouble adjusting to.
“I work with a lot of first-time home buyers,” Jones said, “young couples working in the city, fresh out of the rental market from places like Charlestown, Cambridge, Somerville and South Boston. Taking the commuter rail is always a hard pill to swallow for those who are used to walking or biking to work. But after my buyers settle into their new full-sized home, they find the commute becomes less and less of an issue.”
Millennial buyers don’t mind paying for convenience, according to Jen McMorran of Kensington Real Estate in Attleboro; new luxury apartments are being built near the city’s two commuter rail stops to attract Millennials working in Boston and Providence.
“I think the younger crowd wants what they want: ease and convenience,” McMorran said. “They don’t mind paying for things like Uber. It’s what they know, so I don’t think they think twice about it. Attleboro is taking off and doing some major revitalization. They just put in the Riverwalk, there are fun restaurants going in, new luxury apartment buildings, they just re-did the T stop. It’s a fun market to be in. There’s a lot of activity and energy here.”