This is the question posed on CityNerd video titled “Walkable Cities But They Keep Getting More Affordable”
If you ditched your car, could you afford to leave the suburbs for a great urban neighborhood?
Ray Delahanty answers the question in the 26 biggest US cities.
The analysis assumes the all-in cost of owning and operating a car is $1,000 per month, including purchase, insurance, fuel, and maintenance.
In the city, transportation costs might total about $250 per month for transit passes, biking, ride-hailing, and other small expenses.
This results in an effective $750 per month increase in the housing budget for city center residents who do not own a car.
The results of the video are quite interesting, as you can get more m² in walkable areas in most cities
Average cost of a new car is $50k. A 5-year loan at a very modest 3% interest is $898/month
Plug in the numbers yourself: https://www.bankrate.com/loans/loan-calculator/
How common is it to acyually buy a new car though? Like surely most people get something used right?
That’s part of my thinking. New cars aren’t average.
Edit:
With some research I found that car sales total market is about 70/30 used vs new. Taking that into account the new average is just over $32k, rather than $49k.