For New Home Buyers: Longer Commute Times

“Entry-level home buyers find deals farther from job hubs, but pay in commute time and at the gas pump.

 

New homes — defined as those constructed in 2020 and later — are typically built farther from cities and job hubs. And those who buy them spend nearly 31 minutes on their one-way driving commute — 12 percent more time than the average homeowner, according to a report by John Burns Research & Consulting, a firm that examines home-building trends.

 

“New homes are typically built farther out, especially for affordable entry-level communities,” said Alex Thomas, a research manager at the firm. “That’s where the cheaper land is.”

 

The research examined only driving commutes — car, truck or van.

 

“Entry-level buyers tend to be the most price sensitive,” Mr. Thomas said, and are often willing to choose lower mortgage payments over the unpleasantness of a lengthy drive. Owners of newly built homes are also likely to face longer drives for other trips, such as shopping and entertainment.

 

In recent weeks, high gas prices have made those commutes more costly. (Electric vehicles compose just a tiny share of the market.)

 

Stockton, Calif., an “affordability-driven” exurban market where many residents work in the Bay Area, showed the largest gap in commute time between new-construction homeowners and the metro’s other homeowners, with new owners’ commutes 41 percent longer.

 

Homeowners with pre-1960 homes were most likely to have a nondriving commute. Nearly 8 percent commuted by public transit, by bicycle or on foot.

 

Remote work provides some relief: Nearly 20 percent of owners with newly built residences worked from home, defined as doing so at least three days a week. But lower-level employees were less likely to have the option of remote work than those further along in their careers.” [1]

 

1. For New Home Buyers: Longer Commute Times: Calculator. Cohen, Joyce.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Jun 18, 2026.