Commute Times and Remote Work Situations Influence Home-Buying Decisions

When it comes to work commutes, most new construction buyers have definitive notions about how long they typically want to be in transit — 30 minutes max.

Only 1 in 6 new construction buyers who work is willing to accept a typical one-way commute of an hour or longer, while 17% say they won’t consider anything over 15 minutes, according to the Zillow New Construction Consumer Housing Trends Report 2019.

The report’s finding on the 30-minute commute time — derived from a survey of households who bought a newly built home in the past two years — is somewhat striking since it applies to all generations of new construction buyers across all geographic regions. 

Commutes are especially important to urban buyers

How important is commute time relative to other home-buying factors? It ranks fifth on a lengthy list of neighborhood characteristics buyers consider when choosing their home.

More than half (53%) of new construction buyers rate commute time as a very or extremely important neighborhood characteristic, eclipsed only by feeling safe (87%), preferred neighborhood (63%), walkability (62%) and proximity to shopping and/or leisure activities (55%).

Commute times are especially important for urban new construction buyers, who tend to skew younger and place greater importance on many neighborhood characteristics and amenities than older buyers. Most of those urban buyers — 78% — say their commute to work or school is very or extremely important when they’re considering which home to buy.

That’s not to say longer commutes are always a deal-breaker. A small share of buyers is willing to endure longer commutes for the right price.

Among new construction buyers who purchased a home at or below their budget, about half (49%) made some type of compromise to stay in budget. The most common compromises: purchasing a home farther from work or school (16%) and purchasing a home that increased commute time (16%).

More Americans are working from home

The hassles and cost of commuting in increasingly congested metro areas, together with the expansion of the gig economy and the availability of high-speed internet, may explain why more Americans than ever are working from home.

About half (51%) of new construction buyers with paid jobs work remotely at least part of the time. And half of those workers say that working from home played a role in their decision to either switch homes, relocate or renovate.

Millennial buyers of newly built homes are more likely than other generations to work from home: 44% say they work from home from one to four days a week, and 16% work from home at least five days a week.

Remote work influences buyers decisions to move

Nearly a third of buyers who work remotely (31%) say they moved to a different home because of their remote work situations, and 21% say working remotely contributed to their decision to relocate. Only 9% say remote work prompted them to renovate their homes. 

Younger buyers of newly built homes are more likely to be moving close to their last residence,  while older buyers of newly built homes are more likely to be moving out of state. 

The data suggests that one reason older generations move longer distances may be that they’re moving after retirement and are thus less constrained on location. Whereas younger buyers, who are more likely to be working and raising children, may be trying to shorten the travel time between home and work. These younger generations are also more likely to consider proximity to family and/or friends very or extremely important — possibly restricting their location options.

In short, by keeping commute times and remote work trends in mind during your location search for new developments, you can lower the risk of turning off buyers before they’ve even had a chance to see your homes. 

 Takeaways:

• Share commute preference data with the people in your organization who are responsible for land acquisition. A community’s proximity to job centers and amenities is especially important to urban buyers, the majority of whom will not consider a home if their commute to work exceeds 30 minutes. The greatest share of buyers will consider your homes if you can meet that benchmark.
• Show proximity. Create maps that include proximity to job centers, farmers markets, hospitals and urgent care centers and local businesses — amenities that rank among the top concerns for new construction buyers. Highlight commute times and include options for public transit.