Distant suburbs more expensive, says ULI analysis

Transportation costs tip scale

Wendy Natt, Mar 20, 09.

A recent, detailed study of housing and transportation costs across the Washington, DC metro area shows that when driving expenses are added to the cost of owning a home, household costs in many distant suburbs are actually higher than in urban centers or inner, older suburbs. The Urban Land Insititute (ULI) conducted the study in collaboration with the Center for Housing Policy and the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), using data and analytical tools developed for CNT’s Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, an interactive online resource for researching true housing costs in different areas of a city.

According to the study report produced by ULI’s Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing, “Beltway Burden: The Combined Cost of Housing and Transportation in the Greater Washington, DC Metropolitan Area”, the financial benefit of lower average housing costs in DC’s outer-ring suburbs is negated and sometimes surpassed by far higher transportation costs:

“Housing costs are lowest in the outer-ring jurisdictions, due in part to their remote location, and in central jurisdictions, due in part to an aging housing stock. However, transportation costs are much higher in the outer-ring jurisdictions, leading to a higher combined cost for housing and transportation. Similarly, housing costs are high in both the inner and outer suburbs (offset by residents’ comparatively higher incomes), but the lower transportation costs of the inner suburbs lead to decidedly lower combined costs.”

More specifically, the ULI analysis determined that transportation cost increases begin to exceed housing savings once home locations reach a distance of approximately 15 miles from any major employment center.

High housing costs in urban and inner suburban neighborhoods and high transportation costs in outer-ring suburbs leave many of DC’s workforce without real affordable housing options, says the report. It says that this serious shortage of affordable housing options in neighborhoods near job centers and public transit stops will continue to contribute to a worsening region-wide traffic congestion problem. In addition, this problem is creating mounting costs to communities and local jurisdictions that include 127 million hours of wasted time and 91 million gallons of wasted gas per year, increased pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, the need for more traffic safety and enforcement, and capital improvements.

Fredericksburg, VA, the town with the lowest combined costs for housing and transportation, is located on the outskirts of the DC metro area and is an exception to the above trend.

“Housing costs are predictably low, and surprisingly, transportation costs are also low —most likely because Fredericksburg is a compact, walkable community where jobs are plentiful relative to its population size, and residents have access to work, amenities, and services locally.”

Pictured graphic: The Combined Costs of Housing and Transportation in the Washington, DC, Metro Area - light yellow to dark blue = least to most expensive.
(Source: Center for Neighborhood Technology)