Rural areas are often in need of different kinds of expertise that is easier to find in urban areas, but they can also provide more value for homebuyers and a sense of community that is difficult to replicate in other, more populated areas of the U.S.
This is according to a syndicated article originally published by the Daily Yonder, a national news publication focusing on stories from rural America. Originally published in early January, the column has been widely distributed to other news organizations more recently.
“[S]eniors […] are increasingly swapping their homes in urban or even suburban areas for ones situated on anywhere from two to ten rural acres in the Carolinas, Maine, Missouri, Texas and elsewhere,” the article said. “And while it seems that this is a tactic for elders to avoid high costs, high crime and over development, those who keep an eye on who moves where in America say it has been happening off and on for decades.”
In an environment of high home prices and elevated mortgage rates, older homeowners taking a closer look at less expensive areas to make their money go further is not an isolated phenomenon. But the potential value for older homeowners is not strictly monetary, the article said.
Andy Mooers, a Maine-based real estate agent who has worked for 45 years to link retirees with real estate in the northern part of the state, told the outlet that people develop a fondness for the region after vacationing there from more urban and suburban areas.
“People come from Florida, Texas, Georgia or from Illinois in an effort to avoid the traffic and the high taxes — and some people are buying a farm and hope they will have a piece of land for their kids,” he said. “This is Mayberry. We don’t have the traffic and we don’t have the crime and we don’t have (high) cost of living, either.”
“Mayberry” is a reference to the fictitious idyllic small town of the same name depicted in “The Andy Griffith Show,” which aired for eight seasons in the 1960s.
But another enticing element, Mooers said, is the fact that retirement funds can stretch further in less expensive regions of the country.
“Say your house in the urban area sold for $400,000 plus and you buy one for $100,000 in small town Maine or in the country somewhere, it’s the right move to the right location,” he said.
Costs are also generally lower for everything from property taxes to groceries or car insurance, he said. But there is a trade-off, particularly if someone has a need for more variety in medical services that rural communities may not be well-equipped to handle.
“Make sure you research your options,” said gerontologist Nancy Schier-Anzelmo, principal in Alzheimer’s Care Associates in an interview with Yonder. “As we get older it’s hard to make new friends and that’s why it’s important to find your tribe – those people who are at the same stage of life and have the same life experience as you do.”
For the reverse mortgage industry, the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase (H4P) program is something that industry professionals have aimed to emphasize: older homeowners who elect to downsize or otherwise relocate may find more value and variety if moving to a less expensive location.
Real estate agent Lisa Di Pasquale described her success in such a scenario in a previous interview with HousingWire’s Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD). When a client sells their home in an expensive state like California and chooses to relocate to a less expensive state like Idaho, there is more equity to deploy in a HECM for Purchase transaction, she said.
“I’ve sold lots of great homes to people that couldn’t otherwise afford them,” Di Pasquale said. “Plus, they have a little extra cash left over.”
