Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.Omaha-area housing sales shot up in the new year, with the number of homes contracted for sale in January rising about 40 percent over the previous month and 33 percent over the same month a year ago.
In addition, the Omaha-Council Bluffs area made it on the list of improving housing markets, as tracked by the National Association of Home Builders, making it a thrilling start to 2012, said Lisa Ritter, president of the Omaha Area Board of Realtors.
"To have that number of pending contracts at this time of the year just blew me away," she said.
Ritter and other real estate agents said a mild January undoubtedly contributed to the spike, which followed a four-month decline in the number of pending residential contracts. Other contributing factors leading to the 811 contracts, they said, include a boost in consumer confidence and lower selling prices.
"You're seeing people come back into the marketplace," said Joe Valenti, president of CBSHome Real Estate. "They've waited for job stability or for the economy to get better. With interest rates still at all-time lows, they're saying: Let's just get it done.' "
Amid the sales flurry is another development: The number of houses for sale in the Omaha metro area is at a six-year low point.
As of the close of January, 4,250 homes were listed on the Great Plains Multiple Listing Service, Ritter said, the lowest point since the local Board of Realtors started tracking that statistic six years ago. Ritter said people likely are "staying put" and not offering homes for sale for fear they won't get the price they want. Yet, she noted, "People are buying despite the lack of selection. That's just amazing."
If demand stays high and supply low, it should affect home prices, Valenti said. "The Omaha market will see some price appreciation."
That could provoke homeowners waiting in the wings to sell their houses, and move up to another level of housing. "It creates a combination of positive events," he said.
Susan Hancock, an agent with NP Dodge Real Estate, said existing-home sales and new construction have been busy. She sold six existing homes last month for sellers who, she said, recognized that they had to lower their price if they wanted to move the property.
"We're at a threshold where people are either going to take the leap — or miss out on the better prices," Hancock said.
Ritter, meanwhile, is encouraging clients not to wait until spring, historically the popular time to buy and sell. With housing inventory as it is, she said, sellers today would be noticed more.
Realtors were buoyed by the news that Omaha-Council Bluffs made it on the National Association of Home Builders' improving markets list. It was one of 29 metro areas added in February to the group that now includes 98, including Lincoln.
The list reflects areas in 36 states that have bounced back from lows in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months. Many of the markets are far from fully recovered, notes Bob Nielsen, the national association's chairman, but they're no longer retreating.
"Improving conditions are slowly but surely spreading from one housing market to the next," said Nielsen, a homebuilder from Nevada.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1224, cindy.gonzalez@owh.com
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