(Zero Hedge)—Homeownership may feel like a distant dream for many Americans, with the national median list price reaching $439,450 in July. But in rural Kansas, houses are selling for a fraction of that—some for less than half the $99,990 cost of a Tesla Cybertruck, according to a new article from Realtor.com.
Driving through central-east Kansas, you’ll find quiet towns—Coldwater, Protection, Ashland, and Englewood—where populations have dropped by half since the 1930s. Many were once thriving farming or industrial hubs, but as industry shifted and agriculture became less profitable, residents left in search of more stable communities.
Some towns are so small they barely qualify as towns anymore. Englewood, for example, has just 58 residents. Others, like Coldwater, still have over 1,000 people, but, as local real estate agent Jeff Simpson says, “It still gets sleepy pretty quick.”
Simpson explains much of the decline is due to aging populations and youth migration: “You see a lot of people aging out of the farming communities, and their children have kind of left—either moved into suburban areas or out of state. So yeah, there’s certainly a little bit of a struggle going on there. We’re seeing homes sell for $50,000 to $85,000—especially old farmsteads that have been broken off larger parcels.”
These emptying towns leave behind homes—time capsules of another era. Elizabeth Finkelstein, founder of Cheap Old Homes, notes, “A lot of these towns didn’t have the money to tear down and build new—so these homes survived. They’re like time capsules, filled with pink tile bathrooms and solid oak cabinets. They weren’t designed to impress—they were designed to last. The houses deserve to be preserved.”
Listings include a $75,000 five-bedroom in Coldwater, a $40,000 five-bedroom in Ashland, and a $20,000 three-bedroom in Attica. Finkelstein highlights a historic Coldwater bungalow listed under $65,000, praising its durability: “Most of the wood is oak—one of the heaviest woods. These bungalows are so sturdy and built to last. Just to get the cabinetry today, that alone is half the cost of the house.”
For buyers shut out of expensive urban markets, she calls these homes a rare opportunity: “No one in this country can afford houses right now—it’s completely ludicrous. Someone who’s done everything right still can’t afford to buy. This is a ticket into a real estate market that seems like a pipe dream. You can get in at a low closing cost and chip away at it slowly over time.”
The Realtor.com piece notes that local agents also see potential beyond residential use. Simpson says Kansas’s landscapes are drawing out-of-state recreation seekers: “There’s a lot of out-of-state recreational users—pheasant and quail, the deer, the turkey. There’s a lot of hunting that happens in our area. If you can buy a farm for recreational use and there’s no place to stay, a decent little home nearby will get chewed up pretty quick.”
Still, Finkelstein emphasizes that preservation matters: “The houses that get landmarked are usually where something extraordinary happened. But the homes in these towns were where everyday people lived and worked—and that’s actually our real history.”
While the future of these “dying” towns is uncertain, revitalization is possible. Realtor.com Senior Economic Research Analyst Hannah Jones says, “‘Dying’ towns face prolonged population decline, disinvestment and economic contraction… While the future may seem grim for these towns, there are some strategies that could help manage their decline. Revitalization can happen, but it requires bringing job opportunities and people back to town, which can lead to investment and growth.”
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Stronger Fit for Precious Metals IRAs
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How to Get Started with Bullion
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The gray house with the green house is very appealing. I can deal with the pink tile if it is at least two hours from concentration socialist Democrats.
We Americans are aging quickly. Young Americans are the minority. Right now we talk about a housing shortage, but as older Americans die housing will quickly increase. I expect it to start within the next five years. I think it will be shocking how prices drop because of the surplus of homes. Time will tell. It won’t just be places like Kansas ghost towns.
Urban leftists and illegals would never opt to live in these quiet little towns, as there is no free stuff, only hard work associated with farms and property upkeep. And there is likely no meth or fentanyl either, and fewer victims for them to burglarize, assault, rape and murder. Totally unsatisfactory.
Only WW3 can affect the real estate market.
Exactly. I and my ex-husband are in our late 70s. My kid’s in-laws are in their 80s. We all have homes, and I have a separate guest house on my two-acres. Both of my children own a home plus one rental property each. My two adult grandchildren already own their own home and little mortgage. Nobody is wealthy…our homes are modest…but we value home ownership and that is where we invest—real estate. Between my 6 heirs, there will be four additional houses that they will inherit part or all of, likely within the next 5-10 years. Given we boomers are all nearing departure time, houses will be left behind. Thus home values will have to plummet. I have been warning my kids that they might want to unload some property in the next 3 years.
Hopefully soon, democrats will die off in the 10’s of millions from the clot shot and America will see a surplus housing and increase in freedom from their bolshevik agenda. 🙏
no jobs in a small town in the middle of no where
A Housing surplus will happen as Trump and Homan remove illegals. Illegals drove the housing shortage and as they go rent and house prices will change. It might take 2 or 3 years, but it’s coming.
A lot of these old towns were railroad towns or highway towns when cars weren’t as reliable and didn’t go as far on a tank of gas.
I read the first part just to find out what a Tesla cost. My last new ‘car’ was in 1968. 4×4 Power Wagon, V-8, 4 sp. $3100