Richard Robbins and his wife, Lisa, knew their family of nine needed more space than their half-acre lot in suburban Utah County, UT. The problem? “Land prices where we lived were exorbitantly expensive,” Richard says.

So in 2019, the family set off for the tiny town of Christiana, TN, where they purchased 11.25 acres with a 4,300-square-foot home and a pool for $800,000. Robbins points out, “A similar property in Utah County would have cost several million.”

The Robbins family made the most of their acreage, adding a garden, fruit trees, and a livestock barn for goats, sheep, chickens, and rabbits. When not working remotely on their athleticwear business, they grew the majority of the food they ate and learned from other ex-city slickers now living off the land.

This wasn’t just a lifestyle overhaul. It was also their latest real estate investment.

“We have evidence that the growth path from the surrounding metro areas—Murfreesboro, Franklin, Nashville—will continue to move out to where our homestead is,” says Richard, who’s invested in rentals, spec homes, and hard money loans for over 10 years. “This will make it more valuable in the years to come.”

The final frontier 2.0

Country life has always had its appeal, and it became even more popular during the pandemic with the onset of remote work. Yet a new crop of land-hungry buyers is flocking to remote areas for a different reason: They can’t afford to live anywhere else.

Since mortgage rates began climbing in 2022, real estate prices in rural locations have surged 13%—over triple the growth rate of 4% in urban areas, according to Realtor.com. Nonetheless, life in the sticks is still cheaper, with the median list price in rural counties coming in at $299,950 versus $348,200 for their metropolitan counterparts.

Real estate investors have also shifted their focus toward wide open spaces to get more for their money.

“Many are taking alternative routes to break into real estate investing, and one of those routes is buying a property in a cheaper rural area,” explains Harrison Stevens at TurboTenant. This doesn’t mean you have to move there; many city dwellers run rural rentals remotely, a trend called rentvesting. As Stevens explains, “People may live in a city for their job and can’t afford to buy there, so they’ll buy a rental property in a rural area and use that as a second income stream.”

Although rural real estate may be cheap, that doesn’t mean it’s risk-free.

“Rural purchases look simple on paper, but the unknowns can cost far more than a city lot,” warns Jacob Naig, who bought land outside of Des Moines, IA, that, at first, “seemed picture-perfect—rolling hills, a pond, space for cabins. I only discovered after we closed that the soil wasn’t conducive to septic. It was a costly reminder that rural deals require an added layer of due diligence to know what that land can and can’t do.”

“The biggest advice I’d give is to understand your exit strategy before investing,” says Richard Robbins. “I have seen people purchase land they have to dump later for what they bought it for or less. Investors need to have some idea of the population growth and other factors that will make the property more valuable.”

To learn more, check out this guide to buying rural real estate.

“Rate watch” is on. With mortgage rates falling, mortgage applications shot up by 9.2% last week compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Of those, refis shot up 12%, but loans to purchase property inched up just 7%. So why aren’t more homebuyers diving in? The reason may surprise you.

Rents are rising. Redfin found that the median asking rent in the US rose 2.6% annually to $1,790 in August, the biggest spike since December 2022. Landlords are gaining leverage because demand is high and rental construction has stalled. Still, this varies by area. Chicago saw the greatest jump in rents, up 11%, while Austin, TX, suffered the most significant drop at -3.1%. Learn more about your local rent trends here.

America’s riskiest housing market: Charlotte County—located along Florida's southwest Gulf Coast about 50 miles south of Sarasota—was deemed to be the most vulnerable housing market in the US, according to ATTOM’s Q2 Housing Risk Report. Based on an analysis that included foreclosure rates and underwater mortgages (where the property is worth less than what is owed), Charlotte County was found to have 8% of properties underwater and 1 in 372 in foreclosure. Is your area next? Check out this list of the riskiest markets.

The “perfect” salary to buy a home? Although a Talker Research survey found that Americans would be happy earning $74,000 per year, this supposedly ideal income can afford a median-priced residence in just these two states: West Virginia and Louisiana. Here’s more on how much the perfect salary falls short.

A rude awakening for future home sellers: About one-third of all US homeowners are over 65 years old and have typically lived in their home for more than a quarter century. Whenever they decide to sell (or buy another house), they’ll be floored by how much has changed since they were on the market—and you might be, too.

The one city where real estate has returned to normal: Redfin hails San Francisco as the only major US metro area where housing affordability has reverted to what it was back in July 2018. But that doesn’t mean it’s cheap.

Real estate’s richest mogul: The annual Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people in the US highlights 18 who made billions off real estate. Diane Hendricks, 78, CEO and co-founder of wholesaler ABC Supply, came in 44th overall with a net worth of $22.3 billion. Find out who else ranked as real estate’s richest.

When is a 2% mortgage a curse? When you get divorced but still live in the house with your ex-spouse to hang onto that great rate. Yes, couples are actually doing this; check out the financial and emotional toll of this tough tradeoff here.

Got a weird house? Then it may pay to sell it this way.

People may move to Florida to soak in the sun, but Babcock Ranch takes this idea to a new level as the first solar-powered community in the US. Located about 20 miles from Fort Myers, this town is also designed to improve your health with an extensive network of bike paths, walkways, and social events so that newcomers get to know their neighbors and cultivate a support network. Here’s how Babcock Ranch’s founder, Syd Kitson, CEO of Kitson & Partners, built this new type of town.

What inspired you to build Babcock Ranch? “My vision was born out of a passion for the environment and an aspiration to leave the Earth better than when I came into it. I set out to create the most resilient community in Florida and prove that creating a model for sustainable development is possible. Babcock Ranch illustrates to the world that building with nature—not against it—is possible, scalable, and financially accessible to all.”

What challenges did you face? “After the 91,000-acre Babcock Ranch property was purchased in 2006, the hurdle was showing ‘proof of concept’ for a type of town that had never been built. In 2008, Babcock Ranch secured a commitment for solar generation from Florida Power & Light (FPL), but legislative approval was needed because solar was not cost-competitive with traditional natural gas–generating plants. Legislative requests failed, delaying construction until 2015 when solar generation costs became comparable to fossil fuels, eliminating the need for legislative approval. We spent 12 years carefully planning the community. Initially, national homebuilders were hesitant about Babcock Ranch’s green building and sustainability standards. Smaller and regional builders were the first to buy in, and their early success demonstrated there was demand to get the national builders on board with the project.”

When did people start moving in? “The first residents moved in in January 2018. By the end of 2025, the town is expected to have 15,000 residents. Babcock Ranch offers sustainably built single-family homes, townhomes, condos, villas, and coach homes for sale starting in the high-$200s to over $1 million. [There are] two rental home neighborhoods with monthly rent starting in the mid-$1,000s, which allow residents to live in a sustainably focused town without the immediate financial investment of home ownership. And we’re continuously evolving, planning for 20,000 residences, 60,000 people, and six million square feet of commercial space with an array of shopping, dining, entertainment, recreation, health care, and services.”

How much of the town’s energy do the solar panels provide? “The town generates more clean energy than the town consumes and is one of the few places in Florida where you can see FPL solar energy centers, solar trees, electric vehicle charging stations, and battery storage in one place. All homes receive a Bronze Standard of Certification or higher from the Florida Green Building Coalition, which makes them exceptionally energy-efficient.”

Do you live in the community? “Yes, I am a proud resident, and it’s been incredibly rewarding to see this vision come to fruition around me. Some of the most notable aspects are how the town was thoughtfully designed with health and wellness at its core, with a walkable design and 50% of the footprint dedicated to greenways, parks, and lakes. Many of our residents relocated here in search of a healthier lifestyle. One resident, after a car accident, was told her injuries would leave her with 60% use of one leg. She relocated here and now defies these odds, running three to eight miles every day in the trail network. Another resident faced with the tragedy of losing his wife six months after moving [here] turned to the outdoors to heal, spending 340+ days a year training for competitive races and ultra marathons in our nature paths. He credits his hobby and the outpour of support from the community for helping him navigate his journey through grief.”

Click here to see more photos of Babcock Ranch and its founder.

Although this sounds like a dish a hungry HVAC worker would order at a diner, a “handyman special” is actually a term that pops up in real estate listings. It’s code for “this house has a lot of things that need fixing before it’s up to snuff.”

Handyman specials go by many names, each more euphemistic than the last. “Investor specials” are considered to be in even worse shape. According to an analysis of 700,000 listings nationwide by Realtor.com, here are a few other red flags to look out for:

Visionary’s dream
Restore to glory
Diamond in the rough
Blank canvas
Potential galore
Unpolished gem
Original condition
Renovator’s delight
Needs TLC
Bring your imagination

This is not to say that these listings should be avoided, just that you’ll want to do your due diligence.

“I’m going to be honest with you, the term isn’t flattering and it never denotes anything good,” says Ric Berres of Honey-Doers. “The handyman special doesn’t mean it needs a new coat of paint; it’s more like $150,000 of construction. If you’re going to take on this house, it should come cheap enough to accommodate the additional costs.”

Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Learn more about handyman specials.