Omaha has officially been named the hottest housing market in the United States for 2025, according to a recent analysis by U.S. News & World Report.

Why Omaha Steals the Spotlight

Omaha’s housing market has experienced a remarkable surge, with home prices climbing by an impressive 8%, reaching a median price of $281,000.

This growth starkly contrasts with the national trend, where many housing markets have seen a decline.

Factors Contributing to Omaha’s Success

Job Growth and Economic Stability: Omaha is home to a diverse economy, attracting businesses and professionals, which bolsters demand for housing.

Affordable Living: While many markets grapple with skyrocketing home prices, Omaha’s housing remains accessible, making it an…

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Last week, I had an amazing opportunity to be interviewed by our local news. During the interview, I discussed what I'm seeing with new construction

The founders of Hildy Homes were also interviewed.

The clip they played was pretty short, so I decided to expand upon it a little more. You can watch the video above. Or read some of my thoughts below.

What Am I Seeing?

As of September 2023, plenty of new construction homes are available. In fact, if you're considering between an existing home and new construction, you'll find a wide range of options with new builds.

The inventory of existing homes is low because many homeowners don't want to give up their low interest rates.

Builder Incentives

All of these new homes on the market…

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If you thought higher interest rates would slow down the real estate market, you were wrong.

At the end of 2022, the market in the Omaha area did slow down quite a bit.

But, things have picked back up.

Here's a text from two weeks ago.

I’ve written a dozen offers in the past month. Every home except one had multiple offers.

In a couple of those cases, there were over 10 offers.

Homes are going over asking price - by a lot.

If you are thinking of buying a home in this market, make sure you do these three things:

  1. Get pre-approved, you need to know how much you can afford. Plus, your offer won’t get accepted without pre-approval.
  2. Save money! The more money you can put down on a home, the more competitive your offer will be.
  3. Don’t…

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2022 was a crazy year for real estate.

It started off crazy and then interest rates caused a huge shift.

Here are some of my predictions for 2023.

 

 

Interest Rates

At the beginning of 2022, a 30-year fixed mortgage was around 3.11%.

Today, interest rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage are around 6.25%.

What a difference a year can make. I don’t know anyone that predicted interest rates to double.

My prediction is interest rates will go down but not by much. I think rates for 2023 will be between 5.5% - 6.5%. We will not touch 3% or 4%. Get used to the new normal.

 

Home Prices:

Omaha has seen homes appreciate 10% or more in the past several years.

That will come to an end. Some areas of the country will see home…

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The November 2022 Real Estate Report from the Great Plains Regional MLS is out and here’s what it says:

“Housing affordability continues to be a major roadblock for market participants, with mortgage rates more than double compared to this time last year. Buyers are delaying home purchases in hopes rates will drop, while many sellers are holding off on listing their homes due to weakening buyer demand, unwilling to trade in their current lower rates for significantly higher borrowing costs on their next property. As a result, existing-home and pending home sales have continued to slow as we move into winter.”

“With home sales down, nationwide housing inventory was at 3.3 months’ supply heading into November, up from 2.4 months from this time last…

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The Great Plains Regional MLS October 2022 Real Estate Report is out and here’s what it says:

“Existing home sales declined nationwide for the eighth consecutive month, falling 1.5% as of last measure, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), with sales down nearly 24% from the same period last year. Pending home sales also declined, dropping 10.9% month-to-month, exceeding economists’ expectations. Stubbornly high inflation and soaring borrowing costs have eroded buyer purchasing power and have caused the market to cool rapidly this year.”

“The US housing market is undergoing a major shift, and affordability continues to be an obstacle for buyers and sellers. Mortgage rates have doubled since March, and home prices remain elevated…

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Here’s what the Great Plains Regional MLS September 2022 real estate report has to say:

“The U.S. real estate market continues to slow as we move into fall, as rising consumer prices and higher mortgage interest rates squeeze homebuyer budgets and cool activity. With inflation showing little sign of abating, the Federal Reserve implemented another 75-basis-point hike in September, marking the third such rate increase this year. The cost of borrowing has reached multi-year highs on everything from credit cards to auto loans in 2022 as mortgage interest rates topped 6% for the first time since 2008, causing existing home sales to decline for the seventh consecutive month.”

“Affordability challenges have priced many buyers out of the market this year,…

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The Great Plains Regional MLS August 2022 real estate report is out and here’s what it says:

“Summer 2022 has been a season of change for the U.S. real estate market. With housing affordability at a 33-year low, existing-home sales have continued to soften nationwide, falling 5.9% month-to-month and 20.9% year-over-year as of last measure, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Pending home sales have also continued to decline, while new listings have steadily increased, with unsold inventory reaching 3.3 months’ supply at the start of August. The pullback in demand has been particularly hard on homebuilders, causing new-home sales and construction to slow.”

“Inflation, higher interest rates, and fears of a potential recession…

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The Great Plains Regional MLS July 2022 real estate report is out and here’s what it says:

“The U.S. housing market has continued to cool, as rising mortgage rates and record-high sales prices have stifled affordability, weakening demand and pricing out a multitude of buyers. Nationally, median household income has failed to keep pace with increasing mortgage payments, with the costs of buying a home about 80% more expensive now than they were just three summers ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). As more and more prospective buyers find their home purchase plans delayed, many are turning to the rental market, where competition has intensified due to increased demand.”

“At a time of year when homebuying activity is…

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The June 2022 real estate report released by the Great Plains Regional MLS is out and here’s what it says:

“Rising inflation, soaring home prices, and increased mortgage interest rates have combined to cause a slowdown in the U.S. housing market. To help quell inflation, which reached 8.6% as of last measure in May, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point in June, the largest interest rate hike since 1994. Higher prices, coupled with 30-year fixed mortgage rates approaching 6%, have exacerbated affordability challenges and rapidly cooled demand, with home sales and mortgage applications falling sharply from a year ago.”

“With monthly mortgage payments up more than 50% compared to this time last year, the…

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