Some residents of the Washington region might not be saving as much money as they think by commuting. Choosing more expensive housing can sometimes save money by cutting the cost of traveling. So says a new study released by the D.C. Office of Planning that explores the role transportation costs play in determining whether housing is affordable.
“The study estimates that living in some neighborhoods of the District can save a family on average as much as $16,000 per year in transportation expenses compared to other parts of the region,” Mayor Vince Gray in a news release.
The study also contends that the traditional understanding of affordable housing — housing that takes up less than 30 percent of income — is flawed. Instead, affordability should take into account both housing and transportation costs. For a home to be affordable, its resident owners should spend less than 45 percent of their income on housing and transportation.
Determining affordability by the second calculation means that many commuters aren’t actually getting a good deal by living far away from their offices.
It also means that moving into D.C. — depending on the neighborhood — could be more affordable than driving into it every day for work.
The most “affordable” areas of the city, according to the study: east of the Anacostia River, Shaw/Eckington, Columbia Heights, and the areas around Nationals Park. They all have comparatively low combined housing and transportation costs, said Art Rodgers, senior housing planner for the D.C. Office of Planning.
Virginia’s Clark and Culpeper counties, on the other hand, have low housing costs but high transportation costs.
The study, conducted with the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology, did not take into account different levels of taxation and cost of living.
