High Gas Prices Encourage Family to Buy Second Home

"Carol and Robert Miles recently realized that they were spending nearly $800 a month on gasoline. For that money, they figured they could buy a second house. So they did."

"The Mileses drive lots of miles. They live in De Soto and work in the city of St. Louis, a 100-mile daily round trip. They spend nearly an hour on the road each way. When gas was cheaper, the time was worth it. "We bought in DeSoto 15 years ago and it's beautiful. We have a lake lot, and it's peaceful, and I love it," says Mrs. Miles."

"Soon they'll see their De Soto home only on weekends. The monthly payment on their small, two-bedroom South St. Louis pied-à-terre will be $500, almost $300 less than their gasoline bill."

"The Mileses are an extreme case, but the sky-high price of fuel may be starting to have an effect on the housing market, although changes haven't shown up yet in St. Louis-area real estate statistics. Real estate agents, however, say buyers are factoring the price of gas into decisions on where they'll live and what they'll pay for a home."