In June, 40-year-old Shane Dawley and his 36-year-old wife, Rhonda, uprooted themselves and their four boys from their suburban Atlanta rental home and bought an old five-acre farm in Ogdensburg, Wisc. Their goal: Flee the rat race and adopt a more self-reliant lifestyle amid the troubled economy.
While Mr. Dawley, who had worked at a parking garage, hasn’t found a full-time job yet, he’s been working on nearby farms learning new skills (one person paid him with an old John Deere tractor), and his family is raising chickens while learning to garden and hunt.
“Our generation has never seen anything like this,” says Mr. Dawley of the economic downturn. “Fear sometimes is a good thing and will push you to do things you ordinarily wouldn’t.”
While urban and suburban real estate is still generally under pressure, the rural market is holding up better in many areas, thanks in part to buyers such as the Dawleys. Sometimes dubbed “ruralpolitans,” these city and town dwellers are looking at land as their new safe investment, one they hope could prove more stable than their jobs and 401(k)s—and provide a better lifestyle.
Motivations can vary, but typically there are three groups: young people buying land as an asset or investment, with vague hopes to live on it someday; exurban commuters who have jobs in big towns or cities but want to escape the sprawl; and back-to-the-land types who want to dabble in hobby farming. While the 76 million-strong baby boomers eyeing retirement represent the largest ruralpolitan segment, they’re being joined by a growing contingent of 20-to-early-40-somethings freshly imprinted by this recession’s pain.
At United Country Real Estate Inc., one of the country’s largest real estate groups dedicated to rural properties, the average residential sale price climbed 7% last year from 2006 levels, before the recession began. This year, says the firm, based in Kansas City, Mo., prices are expected to be up 2% from 2006. That’s compared to an expected 22% median price decline nationally in existing single-family homes in 2009 from 2006 levels, as tracked by the National Association of Realtors——a drop exacerbated by the number of distressed homes sold at discount.
“Most of these kids say they’ve just saved and want to put their money someplace that won’t go away,” Mr. VanHoose says. “They see General Motors go down and AIG go down and they are asking, ‘Gee, can my company go down?’ There’s a lot of angst and anxiety.”
History shows economic downturns or disasters such as the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks frequently trigger a short-lived appetite for escape, and that those approaching retirement often crave more-remote properties. If baby boomers follow typical migration patterns, the rural population age 55-85 will increase by 30% between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.
But other factors, such as widespread Internet access, are giving this current ruralpolitan trend new longevity, particularly among younger generations. Enhanced renewable-energy options and associated tax credits mean homes can be more affordably powered by the sun or wind in areas where utility companies won’t service cheaply.
Manufacturers also are tweaking seats and designs to suit this new generation of first-time users, including females. “We took a lot of women out on tests to make sure the vehicles are still badass for guys but comfortable enough for a woman to drive every day,” says Aaron Hanlon, product manager for Cub Cadet Utility Vehicles, a brand of MTD Products Inc. Polaris Industries Inc., known for its powerful off-road utility vehicles, this month is rolling out its first low-maintenance, eco-model: an all battery-powered ride called the Ranger EV.
For some people, the break to rural living is a hedge against an unpredictable future. Brandon Peak is a 36-year-old technician at Intel Corp. who works nights on the factory floor in Phoenix and rarely sees his wife and three children during the week. Mr. Peak’s company laid off workers this year, and he’s received no raise. So when his parents called recently to say they’d purchased 80 acres in Missouri, and asked if he and his family would join them to start a dairy farm, their son jumped at the chance. They’re scheduled to move in March.
“I can’t tell you how many people at work say, ‘Man, I’d like to do that,’ ” Mr. Peak says. “Everybody is looking for the next opportunity for hope.”
– from wsj.com