What does the mantra “location, location, location” mean to most buyers? It’s as much about getting to work as it is about liking where you are once you arrive home. That, at least, is commonsensical: Nobody likes a long-haul commute. What defines “long-haul,” however, is a little harder to pin down—unless you have hard data about travel times. A listings search reveals that beyond a 30-minute radius from Grand Central Terminal, median prices all show a decline. (The irregularity in the left-hand portion of the chart comes from the fact that midtown isn’t the only concentrated work neighborhood—financial-district office workers, for example, won’t prize a short run to Grand Central.) As for that little bump in Queens prices farther out, it’s the beginning of Long Island, where the yearning for backyards and pools trumps access to the city.
Data provided by Streeteasy.com