Posts made by author 'Joe Finlay'

Now that the snow has melted, the Spring real estate market is right around the corner. Interest rates seemed to have remained steady over the past few weeks and buyers are preparing to make offers on homes. Let's take a look at the real estate numbers for first month of 2024 and how it compares to previous years.

Douglas County Existing Homes

There were 344 closed residential sales in January 2024, up 2 percent compared to January of 2023. For perspective, the month of January typically sees the lowest number of closed sales, and the month of June typically has the highest number of sales.

The median sale price in January was $278,500, up over 16 percent compared to the same time last year.

According to FreddieMac, interest rates in January 2023 were about half a point lower than they were in January 2024, but unit sales...

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If one of the goals in your list is selling your house and making a move this year, you're likely juggling a mix of excitement about what's ahead and feeling a little sentimental about your current home.

A great way to balance those emotions and make sure you're confident in your decision is to keep these three best practices in mind when you're ready to sell.

Price Your Home Right

The Omaha housing market shifted in 2023 as mortgage rates rose and home price appreciation started to normalize once again. As a seller, understanding market value is important. If you price your house too high, you run the risk of deterring buyers. And if you go too low, you're leaving money on the table.

Home buyers are most interested in properties within the first three weeks of the listing date, so pricing within fair...

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Below are the statistics of real estate sales in Omaha comparing 2023 to 2022. It is important to note that this data comes from the Great Plains MLS system. Any sales of "for sale by owner" or sales of new construction homes that never reached the MLS are not included.

Douglas County Existing Homes

The median sales price of existing homes increased to about $275,000, which represents a 7.8 percent increase over 2022.

There were 5,799 closed sales of existing homes in 2023, which represents a decrease of about 17 percent compared to 2022.

There were 111 closed sales of existing homes priced at $1 million or more. This represents an 11 percent increase over 2022.

Douglas County New Construction

The median sales price of new construction homes remained flat compared to 2022 at about $465,000...

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If you're thinking about buying or selling a home soon, you probably want to know what you can expect from the housing market in 2024. In 2023, higher mortgage rates, confusion over home price headlines, and a lack of homes for sale created some challenges for buyers and sellers looking to make a move. But what's on the horizon for the new year?

The good news is, it appears we've turned a corner and are headed in a positive direction.

Mortgage Rates Expected to Ease

Recently, mortgage rates have started to come back down. This has offered hope to buyers dealing with affordability challenges. 

For home buyers who are taking on a mortgage to purchase a home and have been wary of the autumn rise in mortgage rates, the market is turning more favorable, and there should be optimism entering 2024 for a better market.

There are a number of factors affecting today's real estate market including the seasonal nature of home sales, but some of the biggest news is that mortgage rates have decreased 5 weeks in a row. Let's take a look at how those factors have affected some of the monthly and year-to-date numbers in Douglas and Sarpy Counties.

Douglas County Existing Homes

There were more closed residential sales in November 2023 compared to November of 2022 and the median sale price in November was $275,000, up almost 6 percent compared to the same time last year.

According to FreddieMac, interest rates in November 2022 were almost an entire point lower than they were in November 2023, but sale prices in Douglas County continued to rise.

Douglas County New Construction

New construction sales rem...

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