Cost of commuting

A 50 mile commute (25 miles each way) costs approximately $6200 MORE per year than a 10 mile commute when gas prices hover around $3.00 per gallon. ¹ That's an additional $6200/ year ($516/month) that could be spent on a house closer to work. 

For a two-car family, the cost of that second car is also significant.  Instead of owning and operating a small economy car, a family could spend about another $6000/year on housing in a walkable or transit-friendly neighborhood.(2)

Taken together, these two measures equate to about $1000/month in additional homebuying power.

(1) August 2006 article from MSN.com, as cited in New Urban News, September, 2006.

(2) I have to find the source on this, or calculate it...