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With gas and food prices on the rise, it's hard to find things that are affordable. But real estate experts say now is the time to buy a house in the Ozarks. KSMU's Kristian Kriner reports.
That's the sound of Cynthia Kinghorn giving me a tour of her new Willard home.
Cynthia and her husband Brent moved to the Ozarks three weeks ago from Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The Kinghorns moved to the Ozarks for a job opportunity, but also because the cost of living is comparatively low.
Cynthia Kinghorn says they researched the area to find the cheapest place to buy a house.
"I do know that we had researched over the internet and we were very pleased to see that the cost of living was much less here and that was a big appeal for us. It was a big draw to the area for us. It helped us in making our decision to come here a little bit as well," Cynthia Kinghorn said.
Brent Kinghorn says the home they were renting in New Mexico was smaller and more expensive than the house they bought here.
He says they doubled their square footage and bought their house here for $10,000 cheaper.
"The builder here was willing to work with us on anything. In fact he kind of had a price and we were so shocked by the price that we didn't even quival about it at all," Brent Kinghorn said.
Real Estate experts say people like the Kinghorns are part of a trend they're seeing.
They say home buyers are moving from the coasts to the Midwest during these tough economic times because the homes are cheaper and in good condition.
Kelly Norris is the owner and broker for Realty Executives in Springfield.
He says on the east and west coasts the value of homes are way down and home values in the Midwest are up.
"We have seen since the first part of the year and in the spring definitely an up-tick in interest in buying homes because we have low interest rates, we have a lot of homes to choose from on the market and people are saying I better get it done now before it's too late," Norris said.
Norris says the market in the Midwest is steady and foreclosures are not as big of a problem here as in other parts of the country.
He says houses are cheaper in the Midwest because the land is cheaper and labor is cheaper.
"So when you buy a lot to build on instead of spending $300,000 on a lot like you might do in Southern Florida or somewhere in that area. You might pay $25,000 here or $25,000 to $30,000 for a similar lot," Norris said.
Norris says the market won't stay like this forever, but welcomes out-of-state home buyers.
For KSMU News, I'm Kristian Kriner.
