May 7, 2021 (KANSAS CITY, Mo.) – The rural and lifestyle real estate market remains strong as buyers from all over the country are seeking homes and land outside of urban areas. United Country Real Estate agents are experiencing the biggest influx of urban dwellers and out-of-state buyers migrating to states like Missouri, Arkansas, Texas and Florida.

United Country, which is the leading seller of lifestyle real estate like farms, ranches, hunting properties and more, is continuing to see record sales numbers in 2021 of these property types even after dynamic double digit growth in 2020. These numbers had many questioning where all of the buyers are coming from and why.

“We’ve had an influx of buyers from California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Illinois buying property here,” said Liz Citron, owner/broker for United Country | Ozarks Realty and Auction Group in Missouri. “We are seeing one family member moving here and then others follow. That seems to be a trend.”

“The California crowd is coming,” added Carroll Bobo, owner/broker of United Country | Bobo Realty in Texas. “We’ve been getting a ton of calls from buyers on the West Coast looking for everything from recreational land, ranch land, country homes and vacant land.”

Originally fueled by the ongoing pandemic, the reasons behind why many buyers are migrating to other states vary. In California, many farmers are looking for more land, some buyers want a second home and some are looking for recreational land after saving money during lockdown. In fact, the New York Times recently published an article showing the population in California declined last year for the first time in a century. The state even lost a seat in Congress for the first time. Their reasoning? People are expressing exhaustion over “fleeing fire after fire, frustration over high taxes and business regulations.”

In Texas and Missouri, lower taxes, political freedoms and property rights have all played a role in the uptick of out-of-state buyers.

“When we ask people why they are leaving their current state, they say taxes are too high, it’s too cold, it’s too political and it isn’t business friendly,” said Bobo.

“Freedom, private water rights, and private property rights are valued in Missouri more than many other states’, added Citron. “You can buy land, you own the water on your land and you have the opportunity to grow your own food. On top of it all, you save a ton on taxes.”

No matter where the buyers are coming from or why, real estate agents nationwide continue to struggle to find sellers, leaving the competition fierce between buyers.

“We are working tirelessly to get listings,” said Whitney Johnson, owner/broker of United Country | Discover Northwest Realty Group in Washington. “Once we get one on the market, it’s gone before dark.”

“I don’t see things slowing down anytime soon,” added Citron. “We are pretty confident about the future.”