by Calculated Risk on 6/25/2008 01:40:00 AM

Peter Goodman at the NY Times writes about an upscale Denver exurb that is getting hit hard by a combination of the housing bust and high oil prices: Rethinking the Country Life as Energy Costs Rise. Here is a great quote:

“Living closer in, in a smaller space, where you don’t have that commute,” [Denver exurbanite Phil Boyle] said. “It’s definitely something we talk about. Before it was ‘we spend too much time driving.’ Now, it’s ‘we spend too much time and money driving.’ ”

Michael Corkery at the WSJ writes in the Development blog: Rising Gas Prices Crushing Housing Recovery in Inland Empire

Even though falling prices in California’s Inland Empire are making homes more affordable, rising gasoline prices are crushing hopes of a housing recovery in this area, east of Los Angeles.
...
“Land that was purchased with expanding metro areas in mind has already been hard hit in value,” says [Deutsche Bank analyst Nishu Sood]. ”Sustained higher gas prices could render it effectively worthless.”

This is a problem all over the country, see this Bloomberg story on the Washington area: Wealth Evaporates as Gas Prices Clobber McMansions, or this post on Temecula, CA.

As I noted before, any lifestyle dependent on low gas prices - and low gas mileage vehicles - is becoming uneconomical. For those that own a home in a remote location, work in construction, and drive a low gas mileage vehicle, this must feel like a depression.