June 26, 2004

It’s community, not commute

By JUDY STARK

The high cost of gas is seldom the determining factor in where people buy new homes, the people who sell those homes say.

At Wilderness Lake Preserve on U.S. 41 in Land O'Lakes, the high cost of gas "doesn't seem to come up whatsoever. The irony is, we have a lot of SUVs out here," said Janice Snow, community relations director, who lives at Wilderness Lake. Home prices range from the mid $100,000s to $1-million.

"On my street alone, everyone has an SUV or a truck. I've never heard a Realtor mention it, and you usually get the real buzz from them."

Her buyers work in downtown Tampa, St. Petersburg and Brandon, "and we've got a lot of on-the-road reps," Snow said. High gas prices "haven't come up, either positive or negative."

Snow theorized that, subconsciously, people filter out gas prices from their buying decision. If they want to live in a certain kind of community, they go where they have to go, regardless of the length of the commute or the price of gas.

"It's a factor and I do hear it, but I don't think it's preventing anyone from buying where they really want to be," said Patty Ryland, who sells at Ryland Homes' new community, Magnolia Estates, in New Port Richey.

Most of her buyers commute to work in Tampa, Clearwater or St. Petersburg, or drive to Tampa International Airport daily, she said. They're willing to make tradeoffs that involve a longer commute. In her case, Magnolia Estates "offers larger homesites than normal. That has kind of overcome any objection to the commute."

Among her buyers are a couple who purchased a home from her in Land O'Lakes when the husband had to get to the airport daily. Now he has retired, and they're moving to New Port Richey so the wife can trade her 40-minute daily drive for a 15-minute commute to her job off McMullen-Booth Road in Pinellas County.

At the Coquina Key Townhomes that U.S. Home is building in St. Petersburg "everyone who comes in here works downtown and is thrilled to be so close to downtown," sales agent Elaine Farrell said. Her buyers work at Bayfront Medical Center ("nurses and doctors in their first-year residency") and in attorneys' offices. They include clerical people and three real estate agents, she said.

"The new product supply is on the fringes, for the most part," acknowledged Doug Tripp of Tripp Trademark Homes. Many of his buyers at Meadow Pointe, Quail Hollow and Oakstead in Pasco County and at Williams Crossing at Interstate 75 just south of Interstate 4 in Brandon work at the satellite job centers in the office parks along I-75, at University Community Hospital, Telecom Park, USAA Insurance - "in the northern sections of Hillsborough," Tripp said. Their commute is "not to downtown" and is "not quite as hateful as it could be," he said.

But long commute or short, he said, his buyers aren't talking about gas prices.

Well, you could always . . .
Use the most fuel-efficient car you own as often as possible. If you don't need the van or the SUV, leave it in the driveway and take the car that gets better gas mileage.

Find a location where you can park once and accomplish many chores: shop for groceries, hit the ATM, have your haircut, rent a movie. You save mileage and behind-the-wheel stress. You also do the least environmental damage, which is at its worst every time you fire up the engine.

Car pool one day a week. Think of it this way: You get to sleep, pound your laptop, chat on your cell phone, read the paper, eat your doughnut without spilling your coffee while somebody else - the driver - is stressing out. Why is this a hardship?

Avoid driving at times when you know you'll be doing lots of stops-and-starts. Wait until traffic thins, then maintain a steady speed, which is most fuel-efficient.

Get rid of unnecessary weight in the car. A heavier car uses more gasoline. Don't use the trunk as a mobile storage area.

Don't drive for miles to save a few cents on the price of gas.