The Boston Commute - how much is convenience worth? A comparison of commute time versus home prices

In this housing recovery cycle, I remain amazed at how much millennials are willing to pay for convenience.   I wonder if they realize the costs and their options.   I have blogged at length about our housing project in Pelham NH, Skyview Estates, and how it fits into the larger greater Boston real estate market.

I was curious to take another look at price vs convenience.  For someone living in or near the city, they may think that Southern NH is a world away.   But that's simply not the case as you can see in this infographic.   For the last 50 years, the typical pattern is for 30 somethings to move out of 

the city, come north of the border to enjoy all the benefits of New Hampshire living, and still excel in their chosen professions.   

Are you willing to drive another 30 minutes to save half a million dollars?   Or 10 minutes to save $300k?

Food for thought.   Comments most welcome.

(This data was collected on Google maps simultaneously at 8am using the same end point in Cambridge, MA and various start points for the commute.  Thus traffic was taken into account.   Home pricing was taken from available listings on Zillow.  Note - there was very little comparable inventory in Massachusetts to even analyze).

Can you still save half a million dollars by moving to New Hampshire?

This is an update to a post I published last May.   In the last 9 months, home prices in Boston have continued to rise.   So, I re-ran my original analysis to see if you could still save half a million dollars buying in NH versus MA.  Read on...

The Boston area residential real estate market is hot -- driven in large part by the enormous resurgence in tech and life sciences companies.   This infographic illustrates the variable of commuting distance from

 downtown in determining home price. If you work in Boston or Cambridge, New Hampshire may seem a world away but it's only 34 miles to Kendall Square.  You would be surprised at how many executives who work in Boston, Cambridge, Burlington and Waltham live in southern New Hampshire.

I recently became involved in residential development in southern New Hampshire with our Skyview project. Real estate agents kept telling me about the perception that Massachusetts buyers had about high property taxes in New Hampshire.   That got me looking at property taxes and other factors that contribute to cost of living differences between NH and Mass.   I came up with the following calculator that takes into account housing costs, tax rates, salaries, commute cost and a number of other factors.   The results were pretty compelling - not only were absolute property tax dollars LOWER in NH but the 15 year savings were over half a million dollars.

Now, my assumptions may be a bit off and not all situations are the same.  I'd love to hear feedback.  (If you want a copy of the actual spreadsheet to play with - send me an email.).

Granted there are big differences between living in Cambridge, MA and Pelham, NH.   But the difference between living in Westford and Pelham are far less dramatic.  In fact, many Massachusetts and even New Hampshire residents aren't fully tuned in to the advantages of the New Hampshire living.   See my post on top 20 reasons to live in NH.   Sure, the commute is a bit longer if you are heading south but the traffic between the NH border and 495 is relatively easy as compared to downtown Boston.

So, take a look and let me know your thoughts.   And if you are interested, check out our awesome homes at Skyview - where by the way you can see the Prudential center from the top of the hill!

This post originally appeared on The John Gargasz blog @ blogger.com.