Condo Living Omaha

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Condo sales for downtown Omaha are slightly down this year with the YTD total (Nov 30) at 70 sold. We expect to close about 10 more before the year completely ends. Part of the reason for the slow down is the inventory of affordable 2 bedroom condos ($100,000 to $200,000) are gone. This is the bread and butter of the condo market. In 2007 & 2008 the majority of sales were in this category and sales were good. Unfortunately many developers who have new condos on the market are stuck with over priced 2 bedroom condos. They simple didn't study the market. What I mean is they copied each other instead of investigating the facts. Two important facts were missed - (1) Average income for Omaha residence is about $55,000, (2) 86% of all residential real estate sold in Omaha was less than $250,000. Two important facts that determine what people can and can not afford. Our current inventory of 2 bedrooms is over $250,000. Next year what you will see are price reductions, sales incentives and creative financing which will have a huge impact on sales. There are a lot of condo buyers eagerly waiting for something they can afford.