UNO Report: Housing Values Stronger in Hardest Hit Areas

Omaha – A study released today by a University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) economics professor shows that while Omaha has largely recovered from the 2008 housing crisis, that recovery is only just now reaching certain areas of the city.

Steven Shultz, Baright Professor of Real Estate and Land Use Economics at UNO, has released an update to his study of how Omaha single-family housing prices have appreciated in value since 2000. According to the report, some of the areas hardest hit in 2008 have had the strongest turnaround in housing values over the past several years.

“If you look at northeast and southeast Omaha, you’ve got houses that, from 2006 to 2013, have dropped in value by 20 to 30 percent, but those same areas have seen a 30 to 40 percent jump in value since 2011,” Shultz explained. “Essentially, while things aren’t where they were prior to the housing crisis, they are getting better in the places that need it the most.”

Shultz has produced the report with the help of UNO and the Baright Foundation since 2007. The study examines 36 zip codes across the Omaha-metro area and measures changes in housing values for more than 107,000 homes in the area as reported by the Omaha Area Board of Realtors.

Even those housing areas that have experienced price valuation drops previously are showing signs of improvement. For example, the area north of Hamilton and between 45th and 72nd Streets, has experienced a 15 percent devaluation in housing prices between 2011 and 2013, but had an increase of 7 percent between 2012 and 2013.

Overall, Omaha saw a rise of 11 percent in housing values across all sections of the city between 2011 and 2013 and a 4.5 percent increase between 2012 and 2013. This puts the city back to nearly even from where housing values were in 2006.

“This is a very positive trend,” Shultz said. “Based on these numbers, we should see a continued increase this year and an overall positive shift in prices for the first time in about 8 years.”

The homes in Shultz’s study include housing sales in what are defined as “non-rural” areas within Douglas, Sarpy and Washington counties. New housing construction and condominium sales were excluded, along with extreme housing valuations on both ends of the spectrum – houses costing below $20,000 or over $535,000.

A link to the study can be found here.

For questions about the study, please contact Charley Reed, UNO media relations coordinator, at unonews@unomaha.edu, or by phone at 402.554.2129.

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha
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