Neighborhood Discussion split off from The Duo Thread

[GenX]

I’m amazed how inexpensive these are. The forgettable apartment I lived in in Council Bluffs many years ago is currently renting for $200 more per month than some of these.

$1,290 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment being inexpensive shows how |expletive| we currently are.

*shrug*
Is what it is, nonetheless…

[ricko]

Agreed. A comparable apt. In downtown DC would be 3000+; New York 5000+. Private Equity on parade. I thank my lucky stars I bought when I did.

[almighty_tuna]

$1,290 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment being inexpensive shows how |expletive| we currently are.

It's sure more expensive than my first apartment many moons ago, but really not out of line with other available one bedrooms around Omaha. A cursory check of apartments.com shows:

The Duke (201 N 46th)
$1,230 - 550sqft studio

Skinner Building
$966 - 556sqft 1 bed

Valley View (East CB)
$1,270 - 950sqft 1 bed

Harrison Hills (115th & Harrison)
$1,265 - 778sqft 1 bed

Residences at Sorenson Square (64th & Sorenson Pkwy)
$775 - 575sqft 1 bed

Club at Highland Park (114 & West Maple)
$895 - 850sqft 1 bed

Considering The Duo is in the center of downtown where you can walk to GLM, several concert venues, stadiums, restaurants, downtown library, and in a couple years take the streetcar to midtown and UNMC?...It's the superior location by far.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

I’m amazed how inexpensive these are. The forgettable apartment I lived in in Council Bluffs many years ago is currently renting for $200 more per month than some of these.

$1,290 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment being inexpensive shows how |expletive| we currently are.

Supposedly they go as low as $1,010 for some units, according to apartments.com

It's sure more expensive than my first apartment many moons ago, but really not out of line with other available one bedrooms around Omaha. A cursory check of apartments.com shows:


Valley View (East CB)
$1,270 - 950sqft 1 bed

Since you mentioned it, Valley View was actually the complex I was referring to in CB above. At the time they were about $750 per month.

[almighty_tuna]

Since you mentioned it, Valley View was actually the complex I was referring to in CB above. At the time they were about $750 per month.

Hah! I was looking at them back when I first moved to Omaha 25yrs ago.

[GenX]

I’m amazed how inexpensive these are. The forgettable apartment I lived in in Council Bluffs many years ago is currently renting for $200 more per month than some of these.

$1,290 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment being inexpensive shows how |expletive| we currently are.

Supposedly they go as low as $1,010 for some units, according to apartments.com

It's sure more expensive than my first apartment many moons ago, but really not out of line with other available one bedrooms around Omaha. A cursory check of apartments.com shows:


Valley View (East CB)
$1,270 - 950sqft 1 bed

Since you mentioned it, Valley View was actually the complex I was referring to in CB above. At the time they were about $750 per month.

And the cheapest units, built atop the parking garage currently under construction are expected to be the least expensive of all.

[meliketrains]

I’m amazed how inexpensive these are. The forgettable apartment I lived in in Council Bluffs many years ago is currently renting for $200 more per month than some of these.

$1,290 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment being inexpensive shows how |expletive| we currently are.

Omaha is pretty expensive relative to its size. I'm out near UNO and I rent an 850sqf for roughly 950 (not including gas/electric), which I think is a decent deal considering my location and the size. That being said, Omaha really only has a metro area of about 1M people at the moment. Consider Minneapolis-St Paul with a metro area of roughly 3M people. Apartments there are only 20%ish more, square footage wise, and that's really just the median price on Minneapolis proper, not including the much cheaper units in the surrounding towns. Not a great look for Omaha.

[stormchaser]

I’m amazed how inexpensive these are. The forgettable apartment I lived in in Council Bluffs many years ago is currently renting for $200 more per month than some of these.

$1,290 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment being inexpensive shows how |expletive| we currently are.

Omaha is pretty expensive relative to its size. I'm out near UNO and I rent an 850sqf for roughly 950 (not including gas/electric), which I think is a decent deal considering my location and the size. That being said, Omaha really only has a metro area of about 1M people at the moment. Consider Minneapolis-St Paul with a metro area of roughly 3M people. Apartments there are only 20%ish more, square footage wise, and that's really just the median price on Minneapolis proper, not including the much cheaper units in the surrounding towns. Not a great look for Omaha.

The Minneapolis-St Paul metro is 3.7 million people. I know that really doesn't have much to do with the point you're ultimately making (which I agree with 100% btw, Omaha is EXPENSIVE compared to up there) and what you said is roughly 3M which is accurate, but just pointing it out anyhow as someone who used to live in that area and listened to people not from there "confused" by what the METRO population was - sooooo many thought it was only ~450,000 because that was the population of MINNEAPOLIS. The metro is MUCH bigger than just Minneapolis. Some people are dumb unfortunately.

[meliketrains]

I’m amazed how inexpensive these are. The forgettable apartment I lived in in Council Bluffs many years ago is currently renting for $200 more per month than some of these.

$1,290 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment being inexpensive shows how |expletive| we currently are.

Omaha is pretty expensive relative to its size. I'm out near UNO and I rent an 850sqf for roughly 950 (not including gas/electric), which I think is a decent deal considering my location and the size. That being said, Omaha really only has a metro area of about 1M people at the moment. Consider Minneapolis-St Paul with a metro area of roughly 3M people. Apartments there are only 20%ish more, square footage wise, and that's really just the median price on Minneapolis proper, not including the much cheaper units in the surrounding towns. Not a great look for Omaha.

The Minneapolis-St Paul metro is 3.7 million people. I know that really doesn't have much to do with the point you're ultimately making (which I agree with 100% btw, Omaha is EXPENSIVE compared to up there) and what you said is roughly 3M which is accurate, but just pointing it out anyhow as someone who used to live in that area and listened to people not from there "confused" by what the METRO population was - sooooo many thought it was only ~450,000 because that was the population of MINNEAPOLIS. The metro is MUCH bigger than just Minneapolis. Some people are dumb unfortunately.

Oop! Last time I checked it was only 3M, which I guess was quite a while ago. If anything, that just highlights my point even further. Minneapolis and Minnesota in general already figured it out (extremely simple). Just legalize building things! Minneapolis wipes the floor with Omaha in so many critical ways, but it doesn't have to be like this. Omaha can do better, if only we allow ourselves to.

[Busguy2010]

Just a hunch maybe they (and all developers) play off the idea that most are coming in from bigger cities where these prices are the norm, and younger people just dont know anything different. I don't see a whole lot of people who once knew of $500 rent moving in here. What they dont know won't hurt em kind of deal. Rent is ridiculous right along with the housing market. I live in a neighborhood that really should be $100-150,000 TOPS, but I see homes all over around me selling for 250-300,000. Theres no way anybody could put 100-200 grand in a house around here, they're just not big enough. So I smell something very fishy.

[meliketrains]

Just a hunch maybe they (and all developers) play off the idea that most are coming in from bigger cities where these prices are the norm, and younger people just dont know anything different. I don't see a whole lot of people who once knew of $500 rent moving in here. What they dont know won't hurt em kind of deal. Rent is ridiculous right along with the housing market. I live in a neighborhood that really should be $100-150,000 TOPS, but I see homes all over around me selling for 250-300,000. Theres no way anybody could put 100-200 grand in a house around here, they're just not big enough. So I smell something very fishy.

It's partly a supply issue and partly a rates issue. The reason some of these seriously dilapidated neighborhoods like Morton Meadows, East Aksarben, South Benson, etc. have houses that are all listing for 200k+ is because there isn't enough housing
stock to begin with, so prices naturally trend upward as competition for each unit forces buyers to make offers well above asking price just to have a chance. Then you throw in mortgage rates, which for most people are sitting around 5.9-6.2%, and you're left with a situation where people cannot afford to move. Someone who already has a locked in rate (maybe even pre-covid!) is not going to swap that for a new rate 3x higher on a significantly more expensive home. They simply don't have the equity or the income.

So you have this perfect storm of extremely high rates, sticky inflation due to a variety of very political factors, and an existing issue of few units to begin with. Building more units could help alleviate this issue, but you would have to convince a developer that this is profitable, which is always harder to achieve when regulation is a bureaucratic nightmare and rates are high. Such is where we're at, and with world events the way they are right now, not to mention a new FED Chair who seems even more hawkish than JPow, I doubt it's going to resolve itself any time soon.

Higher rents should encourage more developments of new multi family housing units.

As above, this is only true once you hit a certain threshold. With interest rates being what they are, even the surge of demand in Omaha hasn't been enough to truly light a fire under the housing market's |expletive|. We've seen several dozen apartment complexes pop up, but it's a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. Helps of course, but the rental market isn't as tightly correlated to the housing market as we might hope. Multi-family units are somewhat rarer in Omaha, and I don't see that changing soon.

[Louie]

Those neighborhoods are not dilapidated...

[locoluke]

Those neighborhoods are not dilapidated...

I suppose they’re dilapidated in the sense that it’s almost entirely older houses that have the same limitations/issues that most older houses. I think OP is just trying to communicate that these are houses that one wouldn’t normally demand a premium for.

[Louie]

Those neighborhoods are not dilapidated...

I suppose they’re dilapidated in the sense that it’s almost entirely older houses that have the same limitations/issues that most older houses. I think OP is just trying to communicate that these are houses that one wouldn’t normally demand a premium for.

I guess, but i think the main reason those houses command that price is the location. Proximity to a ton of stuff.

[meliketrains]

Those neighborhoods are not dilapidated...

Maybe not "dilapidated" compared to North O, but compared to the price one is now paying for these tiny lots and tiny homes, you'd expect the neighborhood to be in great shape. Lots of these neighborhoods have sidewalks in disrepair and could use better pavement. The home stock is pretty hit or miss in some areas too, especially the further you get from UNMC and UNO.

Also, location is only part of the picture. The larger issue is that we simply don't have much housing stock available. Go onto Zillow, Redfin, or NP Dodge and look at the map of available houses or townhomes for sale. There's practically nothing on the market, and each neighborhood is lucky to have even a couple homes up for sale. People are entrenched and unlikely to move with these interest rates.

[Louie]

Those neighborhoods are not dilapidated...

Maybe not "dilapidated" compared to North O, but compared to the price one is now paying for these tiny lots and tiny homes, you'd expect the neighborhood to be in great shape. Lots of these neighborhoods have sidewalks in disrepair and could use better pavement. The home stock is pretty hit or miss in some areas too, especially the further you get from UNMC and UNO.

Also, location is only part of the picture. The larger issue is that we simply don't have much housing stock available. Go onto Zillow, Redfin, or NP Dodge and look at the map of available houses or townhomes for sale. There's practically nothing on the market, and each neighborhood is lucky to have even a couple homes up for sale. People are entrenched and unlikely to move with these interest rates.

So your complaint is pretty much that the concrete is bad and your taste in homes is different than those who ARE buying houses in those neighborhoods. I just find it crazy to call these neighborhoods |expletive|. Also, $200k is practically the minimum for housing in this city, so it absolutely should be the floor in these neighborhoods.

[Flyer14]

Morton Meadows is in the process of resurfacing all roads, and in the spring got all new curbs/ sidewalk crossings so maybe he will exclude them from the dilapidated list now lol

[meliketrains]

Those neighborhoods are not dilapidated...

Maybe not "dilapidated" compared to North O, but compared to the price one is now paying for these tiny lots and tiny homes, you'd expect the neighborhood to be in great shape. Lots of these neighborhoods have sidewalks in disrepair and could use better pavement. The home stock is pretty hit or miss in some areas too, especially the further you get from UNMC and UNO.

Also, location is only part of the picture. The larger issue is that we simply don't have much housing stock available. Go onto Zillow, Redfin, or NP Dodge and look at the map of available houses or townhomes for sale. There's practically nothing on the market, and each neighborhood is lucky to have even a couple homes up for sale. People are entrenched and unlikely to move with these interest rates.

So your complaint is pretty much that the concrete is bad and your taste in homes is different than those who ARE buying houses in those neighborhoods. I just find it crazy to call these neighborhoods |expletive|. Also, $200k is practically the minimum for housing in this city, so it absolutely should be the floor in these neighborhoods.

You're acting like I'm arguing in bad faith or something. Let's take a look at some specific examples.

https://www.redfin.com/NE/Omaha/4425-Ba ... e/64023129

935 sqf. Inside hasn't been updated since the 70s at least. Morton Meadows, sold for 232k.

https://www.redfin.com/NE/Omaha/1702-S- ... e/63944807

901 sqf. "Remodeled kitchen" is a vinyl wrap that probably cost 300 bucks. Morton Meadows, sold for 219k.

Let's pretend that this is a location issue only and ignore the entire point I was making about interests rates.

https://www.redfin.com/NE/Omaha/3346-Ma ... /103582992

772 sqf. Located in Indian Hills South, a very industrial area with a higher than average crime rate and poor access to the better amenities. Doesn't matter, sold for 195k, |expletive| it.

You can go onto any realtor website and filter by sold and you will see this same story over and over. These houses are not worth 200k+, and I think it's disingenuous to frame my argument as simply not liking the style of housing. I strongly encourage you to do some of these open house tours every now and then, and you will realize that an enormous amount of housing stock in these neighborhoods have significant deferred maintenance waiting to create expensive issues. A fresh coat of paint, some vinyl wood flooring, and realtor photoshopped photos make any house look good, but then you find out that the basement has water damage, the foundation needs repair, the roof hasn't been touched in two decades, and there's black mold under that new vinyl flooring.

You're saying 200k is the minimum in Omaha, I'm describing why that is the case and why that is a market failure. Homes that have had little to no work put into them with years of deferred maintenance should not be pulling this price relative to Omaha's size. There is no incentive to put in work, because owners who intend to move can sell within weeks above asking price with 0 home inspections because buyers simply do not have an option. If you know you're moving, why replace the roof or fix the foundation for tens of thousands of dollars, when you can ignore that and the house will sell for 30% more than you bought it just 5 years ago anyway?

My issue with these areas is not their style, I actually love these smaller houses and find the brick work to be beautiful. It's the state of the housing stock and the ridiculous price that these homes are going for because of interest rates and slow housing starts. It completely screws over potential first-time home owners who need to generate wealth and not just endlessly dump it into rent. I realize that Omaha is not responsible for interest rates and there's little we can do about that, but we do have power over zoning/development approval. There are levers this city can flex to improve this situation, should it be allowed to.