The housing market meltdown, along with the energy crisis, have many people rethinking where they’re going to buy their next home. Recently a segment on ABC News “Good Morning America” reported that U.S. suburbs are slowly loosing residents due to high gas costs and home-value depreciations in certain neighborhoods.

As a result, many metro areas such as Charlotte, NC; Portland, OR; and Denver are investing millions of dollars into building a public transit system. Developers and home builders are also building in areas near mass transit and developing planned communities that are more pedestrian-friendly. The new movement is revitalizing once-desolate downtown areas in Fort Worth, TX, Atlanta and other cities.

Public transportation

Living in Chicago, I have the option of taking the El (our city’s elevated subway system), buses and Metra suburban trains. While I do own a car, most of my friends don’t, but they can get anywhere in the city and to neighboring suburbs without a problem. But for friends that live in car-dependent cities like San Diego and St. Louis, their pocketbooks are feeling a little lighter these days from gas prices. A home, just because it’s cheaper out in the burbs, can be less affordable in the long run if its location forces you to spend an excessive amount of your family budget on transportation.

When you start searching for a home, it’s always smart to look into an area’s local transit system (if there is one). If you live in a town where you’ll need to be more car-dependant, take time to drive from the home you’re thinking about buying to your work place during rush hour to help you gage the fuel cost. In addition, walk around the neighborhood and time how long it will take you to get to the nearest grocery store, restaurants and schools.

Pedestrian-friendly ’hoods

Recently, a friend of mind who’s a mortgage broker, sent me the link to a very helpful Web site, Walkscore.com, where you can calculate the “walkability” of a certain address. A score of 90 to 100 is considered a Walkers’ Paradise, where many folks can get by without a car and run most errands on foot. A score of zero to 25, means it’s a Driving Only area, where virtually no neighborhood destinations are within walking range. You can pretty much walk from your house to your car and that’s about it.

Today’s reality is that gas prices aren’t going down. With demand for oil increasing worldwide, the U.S. will have less influence controlling prices. Recently, the administration has steered the pot of controversy (again) with talks about lifting the federal ban on offshore oil drilling in protected areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Over time, the Bush administration contends, drilling in these locations will increase the domestic supply of oil — and cause a corresponding decrease in gas prices. The environmental implications and actual price decline from offshore drilling are being heavily disputed by several Washington think tanks and environmental groups.

But regardless of which side of the aisle you want to fling mud from, offshore drilling is not going to solve our energy crisis. Instead, homeowners, builders and government officials — and everyone else — need to seriously look into more energy-efficient alternatives and solutions.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@homescape.com.