`RURALIZING YOUR DREAMS'

Six years ago, Brenda Bunch and her family moved to Bollinger County from Tucson, Ariz.

"We didn't know a soul," she said. "We just wanted to come back to the country."

And the Bunch family is not alone. Thousands of Americans are moving away from the city and putting down roots in the countryside.

Bunch, a broker with United National Real Estate in Marble Hill, now spends her days selling property to people looking for their dream house in the country. Her company calls it "ruralizing your dreams."

Most people searching for their `American Dream' want just a few acres of rural property and some privacy, real estate agents say.

"Everybody wants an acre or two," said Barbara Baker, an agent with Town & Country Real Estate in Cape Girardeau. "People want privacy and a few acres. We get more calls on property outside the city than anywhere else."

Land between Jackson and Cape Girardeau is really popular now. But not much is for sale, she said, adding that lots in the Fruitland area are selling quickly.

Most of the growth in Cape Girardeau County during the last two years has been in the Fruitland or Gordonville area, said Brenda McQuay, office manager for the mapping division of the assessor's office.

The majority of homes Charlie Smith designs for Seabaugh Construction Co. are built between Cape Girardeau and Jackson, near Bainbridge Road. Since homes in the country are typically larger than those built in the city, the company only builds five homes each year.

While living in the country has some advantages, it can also be expensive. Lots just outside city limits will cost about the same price as those in the city.

A two-acre lot could run between $40,000 and $50,000, said Dennis Horman, an agent with Century 21 Ashland Realty Co.

Although real estate agents get a lot of requests for land in the country, only a few customers actually find homes there.

"We get a lot of requests but it seldom happens," Horman said, adding that when a customer finds a home in the country, "it's gone in a couple days."

Moving outside city limits means living without amenities like city water and trash service. And adding a well can raise the cost of a new house by about $8,000, Baker said.

"I don't know why but people just want out of the city. I guess they are tired of the traffic and think there's less crime," said Baker, who's been in the real estate business for 26 years.

Almost any property in the country sells quickly today, with customers more willing to drive farther than they have in the past. But land prices aren't necessarily reflecting that trend.

The average price for a lot near the city limits of Cape Girardeau runs about $40,000. Land prices drop to about half that farther out in the county.

Buyers in the county are able to get a few acres of land for about the same price as a lot in the city, said Charlie Smith.

"More people are wanting out of the city limits," he said, adding that although people like more privacy, they are building homes that have more windows, vaulted ceilings and big porches.

Typically, new homes are built in the spring and summer but fall is a good time to build because construction slows down and prices are better, Smith said.

Bollinger County has some competitive land prices, and those low prices have drawn buyers from as far away as California.

Many people move to the Marble Hill area to retire. Employees in the Bollinger County Assessor's office have noticed an increase in out-of-town buyers during the past few years.

Brenda Bunch said her office gets several inquiries from California, Florida and Chicago each month.

"We get a lot from out of state and out of county, which could be either St. Louis or Cape Girardeau County," she said.

Buyers in Bollinger County are interested in acreage. The average request is for 10 acres but Bunch recently sold a 280-acre farm and a 107-acre farm to two out-of-state buyers.

Although farms in Bollinger County aren't frequently for sale, the agency has been selling rural property for more than 80 years.

"With Cape and Jackson expanding our way, you see more interest," Bunch said. "Land prices are less and property taxes are less here, which is real important to people."

Each week, the company's home office in Kansas City receives 200 to 300 inquiries for property in Southeast Missouri and the Midwest.