NEW research from PRDnationwide has confirmed what we’d all suspected: people don’t like a long commute to work. Although the new data confirmed the obvious, it also pointed out a growing trend of people choosing to travel longer distances for lifestyle reasons.

The research showed that 18% of people would be willing to travel under 10 minutes to work, 58% of people wouldn’t mind travelling 10-30 minutes to work, 23% of people were willing to travel 30-60 minutes to work and only a paltry 1% of people would be willing to travel an hour or more to work.

This has implications for property investors, as the sell-on value of your home can be affected by its proximity to a working centre.

Nardia Guillaumier from PRDnationwide says people are more willing now than previously to travel long distances to work, if the payoff is right.

“I have seen people willing to travel 60 to 90 minutes to work as they appreciated the lifestyle the suburb/town had to offer and enjoyed the escape whilst they were at home,” she said.

PRDnationwide said while a small percentage of people were willing to travel more than an hour to work, an increase in people willing to travel 30-60 minutes to work reflected a shift in the way Australians thought about their commuting habits.

The fact that people are willing to travel 1-2 hours each day indicates that more Australians are using public transport, and are willing to sacrifice their time to have a CBD salary while living in the suburbs or near the beach.

It’s a good thing that people are willing to travel further and further to work, as an increasing population will push people out to the suburbs and longer commute times will slowly become the norm.

Aaron Maskrey, PRDnationwide director said this would continue to be the case.

“As our capital cities struggle with a growing population, more home buyers will be facing longer trips to work as inner city land becomes overcrowded,” he said.

Overpopulation is an issue which has been thrust into the national consciousness over the past 12 months, and shapes as a key election issue.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in the five years leading up to 2009, Melbourne has increased its population by 2% (an increase of 370,000 people), Sydney had an increase of 1.3% (an extra 219,000 people).

The national average was 2.3% growth, with population projected to increase from anywhere to 34-40 million by 2051.

“Travel time has a social impact and home hunters should not underestimate the impact of not coming home until well after dark every day,” Maskrey said.

The long time spent on public transport has led to people adapting, with most commuters passing the time by reading, listening to music or catching up on work.

Agent Linda McCormick from PRDnationwide Townsville lives on Magnetic Island, 8 kilometres off Townsville, Queensland, and says she has learned to appreciate the commute to work.

“Living on Magnetic Island, it takes me one hour to get to work when I commute but it is worth it; sitting on a ferry is a real pleasure,” she said.
Guillaumier said another factor in the increase of people’s willingness to travel a longer distance to work is the affordability of houses away from the main cities.

“High income earners who spend hours away from home, look for the lifestyle locations more so than proximity to work,” she said.

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