Why Kansas City Works: Cost, Livability, and Buying a Real Life

This week’s blog post comes to us from our own Alex Larson!

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I was born in Kansas City, but I didn’t grow up here. Not exactly.

As a kid, I spent summers here with my dad and grandmother, plus the usual orbit of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Those summers stuck with me. Kansas City had weight, history, character, a pace that felt grounded. Even then, it left an impression.

I returned to KC in 1993. That’s more than three decades ago now.

And I’ve stayed because Kansas City works. Not in a flashy way. Not in a “top 10 trendiest cities” way. It works in the ways that matter when you’re trying to build a real life: buying a home, keeping your commute reasonable, finding neighborhoods that fit different seasons of life, and doing it without stretching every dollar until it snaps.

That combination is rare. It’s also why people keep choosing Kansas City.

Cost of Living That Actually Works

The strongest reason Kansas City remains livable is simple: your money goes further here.

Not “cheap.” Not “exclusive.” Balanced.

Housing You Can Actually Afford

Compared to places like Denver, Nashville, or Austin, Kansas City still offers a path to ownership that doesn’t feel like a constant emergency.

• More attainable price points across a wider range of neighborhoods
• Fewer “every home is a bidding war” scenarios as the default
• More options for first-time buyers, move-up buyers, and downsizers

When I returned in 1993, being able to buy mattered. Today, it matters even more—because in many cities, the first rung on the ladder got pulled up.

In Kansas City, first-time buyers still have entry points. Young families can still find homes with yards. Professionals can still own downtown condos without needing three roommates. And for buyers who want stability, Kansas City tends to move with fundamentals, not mood swings.

For investors, the math can still work in a way that supports stability rather than pure speculation. Rent-to-price relationships often remain more realistic than “hotter” markets, which helps keep neighborhoods from being whipsawed by hype cycles.

Kansas City doesn’t rely on buzz to grow. It grows through jobs, households, and steady demand. That’s a big deal.

Everything Else Costs Less Too

Livability isn’t just the purchase price. It’s what your monthly life costs after you move in.

In much of the metro, you’ll typically feel relief in categories that quietly control your budget:

• Utilities that don’t punish you year-round
• Groceries and services that are generally more manageable than coastal metros
• A lifestyle where entertainment and dining don’t require constant financial gymnastics

When fixed costs are lower, you gain margin. Margin is underrated. Margin is what lets you save, invest, travel, handle repairs, and breathe.

Kansas City still leaves room.

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Up next: Cost of living is only part of livability. In Part 2, we’ll look at how Kansas City’s neighborhoods support different stages of life, from downtown living to family-focused suburbs, and why that flexibility matters long term.

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Trump’s Call to Ban Some Institutional Investors From Buying Single-Family Homes

This week’s blog post comes to us from our own Miles Barkley!

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On Wednesday, January 7, 2026, President Donald Trump sent out a message calling for a ban on “large institutional investors” buying single-family homes. For this to have any legal standing, Congress would need to act and codify it. We will have to wait and see whether any of this comes to fruition, but it certainly has people within the industry talking. Of course, there are many questions that need to be answered such as: What counts as a single-family home? Does it include building to rent? Who counts as a “large institutional investor?” And the most pertinent of all: How does this impact Auben?

To start with, the most glaring question is: what qualifies a company as a “large institutional investor?” There are many definitions that one can cite, such as the definitions provided by the American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center and Cotality, a data analytics site. Cotality defines investors in four groups with the largest being Mega, or having 1,000 or more units owned and large with 100-999 units. The American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center calls a large investor one that owns at least 100 properties. Auben would fall into the “large” investor category by each of these definitions. In the lawmaking process, there is opportunity to further differentiate who qualifies.

The main follow-up question that anyone would naturally have is: will this have any impact on the housing market? The short answer is we will have to wait and see. Of course, many are skeptical this will achieve the desired outcome. This Globe St article cites the 24 largest owners as holding roughly 520,000 homes – less than 1% of US single family dwellings¹. Blackstone has said they are a net seller of homes over the past decade. 

Institutional investors are an easy target to pin the blame on as people continue to see home prices continue to increase. To add insult to injury, that is paired with higher mortgage rates. Viewing the issue from this lens, would it seemingly do much to ban institutional investors? They have more access to capital and can certainly deploy it easier, but banning them will not solve one of the main issues for individual buyers: getting them the access to capital they need at an affordable rate. 

Inventory is also part of the conversation with housing prices increasing. Homes on market have not kept up with the number of homebuyers. As more products enter the market then prices should adjust as they will have more housing than demand, creating a softening of prices. There are certainly more direct approaches that local authorities can take that could have a lasting impact to create opportunities for families and individuals looking to buy homes. These could be adjusting the permitting process, allowing higher density and building smaller homes. 

Whether Congress acts will determine if we see anything stem from this idea. In the meantime, Auben has done a good job of positioning itself as a community-involved company that has scaled operations responsibly and remains a strong investment vehicle. 

¹ Trump’s Call to Bar Institutional Homebuyers Faces Legal, Market Uncertainty

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