Gas Prices, Jobs and The 'Burbs

Hi Stephanie, haven't talked to you for awhile.

Definitely think people are thinking twice about how far they will need to travel. In an area like our's, there's really not much public transportation, so without a car....

As far as a new car? They're so expensive now that it's ridiculous, and I hate buying a little tiny one. I'm a big car sorta gal......feel safer with all of those crazy drivers on the road. :-)

With constant new streams of incoming population and the Californication of Las Vegas people do choose areas in close proximity to where they work & play.  It's not that the valley is huge, it is because the freeways and side streets close to the centers of fun can be a nightmare certain times of the day.  

North Las Vegas has the least expensive real estate because that is the furthest from downtown and the strip.  Henderson has the most expensive real estate because of it's proximity near the strip.  The southwest (same proximity as Henderson) is growing in popularity and will some day catch up with Henderson when it has the same growth (restaurants, shopping, local gaming, movie theaters, etc) as Henderson.  I am talking price per square foot.

Naturally North Las Vegas is growing because the more people that move there, the more jobs will be created there (grocery, restaurants, shopping, local gaming, etc) so some day it will all catch up to them.  They will always be lower price per square foot than other areas of the valley that have closer proximity to the strip because the strip will never move unless an earthquake shakes it down!

Here in Atlanta (or at least the general area), we have a big problem with time and distance.  But, we also have a residential donut.  Developers are trying to plug the hole, but it isn't working.  Homes in town (in reasonably good neighborhoods) are expensive.  Crappy neighborhoods are cheap, but since the government can't leave well enough alone, they won't get better (it is referred to as "gentrification" down here).  

We have the longest commute times in the country (sorry L.A.).  And there are no boundaries to growth, such as lakes, oceans or mountains... and it is easy to see the result. 

But, we have built several "centers" that contain industry, commerce and residences.  Sooner or later the centers will link up and...

It's kind of like playing SIM City... except with real people. 

BTW, look for a technology to extract oil from oil shale.  The US has more barrels of petroleum in this stuff than has been used before... ever (a couple trillion barrel).  Costs about $70/barrel to extract.   

This is a big topic in my office. For the last 30 years - or forever- Realtors have had big cars for consumers.  Either the clients start driving so the agents can focus on the clients or something has to change.  My two cents.

Stephanie, around the DC area, there are a lot of government contractors, law firms and some federal agencies moving out of town.  

And I'm driving a gas guzzling Lexus that is comfortable and full of all the gadgets, and even though I can afford to pay for the gas, my next car will definitely be a hybrid of some sort.   I could see doing a Honda Accord hybrid with a leather interior, navigation system, super sound system - and with my clients, the green factor would probably mean more than riding in a so called luxury car.