Could this be the end of “Drive Until You Qualify?”

That vintage phrase, in vogue until the housing crash of 2007-2008, reflected the price disparity between regions with lots of economic activity and those without. The further away from job hubs, the lower the price of housing. As a result, buyers shopping strictly on price often committed themselves to long commutes in order to become homeowners.

Since the last housing bubble, studies and blog posts assessing the hidden costs of long commutes, including quality of life and excess auto depreciation, should be factored into the real cost of the total housing package. This raised awareness that making a long-term investment in a place to live might not revolve just around the price of market entry.

So now, fresh data in the first quarterly survey of homeowner sentiment conducted by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Berkshire Hathaway New England Properties show shifting perceptions of the ability to benefit from homeownership across three demographics – Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials. The takeaway: home value transcends price and location in the new age of real estate, according to BHHS.

Buyers preselect according to their perceptions of their ability to benefit from homeownership, not just to step on a rung of the homeownership ladder or to – in another vintage phrase – to “keep up with the Joneses.” Instead, all three demographics are paying more attention to quality of life, both now and in the future.

“The Joneses” was a far more potent social trope when the prevailing aspirational model was homogeneous and suburban. Reality was different. There were many unheralded subsets of ownership – the family that remortgaged their modest home again and again to put their kids through college, or the immigrants who bought multifamily properties in order to put up newly-arriving friends and relatives who were also making their way. While the “You’ve arrived!” message was trumpeted in the mid-20th century, many of more modest means saw housing as a means to an end and not an end in itself.

So, back to the Berkshire Hathaway study, which reveals some promising trends in this direction, if only subtly. More buyers see housing as a long-term investment – but to benefit, one must have either job security or assets built up, so the findings that more people feel confident enough to undertake a long-term investment rather than a quick cash-out is a good sign of economic health.

As a subset to the long-term investment mindset is the type of renovations survey participants are prioritizing. Energy-saving renovations, which are not as visible as kitchen, bath or flooring upgrades, are gaining traction, and their emergence as a priority is a healthy sign of long-term commitment to the value of the property. Additionally, there’s the preference of buyers for homes that they can upgrade to their own specifications.

The health of the housing market is dependent on the life cycles of each demographic. The more younger people who can enter the housing market, and the more older people who can stay in it for as long as they can, the healthier our society will be, never mind the price tags.