Nebraska Housing Crisis

[nativeomahan]

This article from the Nebraska Examiner digs into data to look at why so many Nebraskans are moving out of state (32,000 in the most recent year with statistics). It used to be primarily for a better job. Now more often it is because people cannot find a decent selection of housing. It has long been a problem in rural Nebraska but the stats show it’s also a problem in metro Lincoln and Omaha. The shortage in Nebraska is now among the very worst of any state in the union.
The stated goal is to add 35,000 units in the next 5 years. But Nebraska hasn’t added that quantity of housing in forever. The report indicated what rural Nebraskans have long known…there is no one around to construct the necessary number of housing units to allow rural Nebraska to turn around from its population slide. That shortage of construction workers may well exist even in the metro areas.
https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/12 ... oved-away/

[Garrett]

This article from the Nebraska Examiner digs into data to look at why so many Nebraskans are moving out of state (32,000 in the most recent year with statistics). It used to be primarily for a better job. Now more often it is because people cannot find a decent selection of housing. It has long been a problem in rural Nebraska but the stats show it’s also a problem in metro Lincoln and Omaha. The shortage in Nebraska is now among the very worst of any state in the union.
The stated goal is to add 35,000 units in the next 5 years. But Nebraska hasn’t added that quantity of housing in forever. The report indicated what rural Nebraskans have long known…there is no one around to construct the necessary number of housing units to allow rural Nebraska to turn around from its population slide. That shortage of construction workers may well exist even in the metro areas.
https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/12 ... oved-away/

Not just units, affordable units. That’s a bold plan that I don’t see current policy able to create

[gisbuxfan]

If you're talking about affordable, that is going to start with home values and taxes. Of the 6 bordering states (south dakota, wyoming, colorado, kansas, missouri, iowa) Nebraska has the highest property taxes. This has to be fixed first.

This article from the Nebraska Examiner digs into data to look at why so many Nebraskans are moving out of state (32,000 in the most recent year with statistics). It used to be primarily for a better job. Now more often it is because people cannot find a decent selection of housing. It has long been a problem in rural Nebraska but the stats show it’s also a problem in metro Lincoln and Omaha. The shortage in Nebraska is now among the very worst of any state in the union.
The stated goal is to add 35,000 units in the next 5 years. But Nebraska hasn’t added that quantity of housing in forever. The report indicated what rural Nebraskans have long known…there is no one around to construct the necessary number of housing units to allow rural Nebraska to turn around from its population slide. That shortage of construction workers may well exist even in the metro areas.
https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/12 ... oved-away/

Not just units, affordable units. That’s a bold plan that I don’t see current policy able to create

[Elkhorn_Urbanist]

If you're talking about affordable, that is going to start with home values and taxes. Of the 6 bordering states (south dakota, wyoming, colorado, kansas, missouri, iowa) Nebraska has the highest property taxes. This has to be fixed first.

This article from the Nebraska Examiner digs into data to look at why so many Nebraskans are moving out of state (32,000 in the most recent year with statistics). It used to be primarily for a better job. Now more often it is because people cannot find a decent selection of housing. It has long been a problem in rural Nebraska but the stats show it’s also a problem in metro Lincoln and Omaha. The shortage in Nebraska is now among the very worst of any state in the union.
The stated goal is to add 35,000 units in the next 5 years. But Nebraska hasn’t added that quantity of housing in forever. The report indicated what rural Nebraskans have long known…there is no one around to construct the necessary number of housing units to allow rural Nebraska to turn around from its population slide. That shortage of construction workers may well exist even in the metro areas.
https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/12 ... oved-away/

Not just units, affordable units. That’s a bold plan that I don’t see current policy able to create

I don't necessarily think that this is true. Don't get me wrong, taxes do contribute to cost of living and cost of housing. And as a home owner I would love to have lower property taxes. But I think that the most important thing to do to make housing affordable is to build more housing. More housing means less pressure on existing units, decreasing costs, slowing the climb in property value (and if enough housing is built, reversing it) which in turn would lead to lower property taxes. Policy change to address barriers to building housing cost effectively can help, policy that attracts workers that actually build houses also helps. Taxes are a part of this.

[gisbuxfan]

Definitely more housing would help. That comes down to simple supply and demand. Im in Grand Island and the issue here is the 1-2 builders capable of doing large developments are already overbooked and simply cannot keep up. For at least 3 years now there have been more realtors than homes on the market. Something has to change,.

[nativeomahan]

Gee, I wonder where we could look to find an ample supply of mostly younger men who are eager and willing to work outdoors in unpleasant weather, for an honest day’s wages? Would our state open its doors to them? Find them and their families a place to live? An opportunity to apply for a driver’s license?
What has Nebraska’s track record been on recruiting blue collar workers?

[Cermak]

It's much more difficult to buy a home now than 5 years ago. My neighborhood seldom has houses for sale, right now it currently has 1 . Before the pandemic we always had a few houses on the market sometimes in the spring 4 or 5. Those days seem to be over. People are reluctant to move anymore, only if they have to because of a job reason or they are maybe downsizing. Most homeowners are just staying put. The housing market is broken and needs to return to its former self or a lot of people will be unable to be homeowners, which isn't good for the country. Who wants to pay rent year after year.

[Louie]

It's much more difficult to buy a home now than 5 years ago. My neighborhood seldom has houses for sale, right it currently has 1 . Before the pandemic we always had a few houses on the market sometimes in the spring 4 or 5. Those days seem to be over. People are reluctant to move anymore, only if they have to because of a job reason or they are maybe downsizing. Most homeowners are just staying put. The housing market is broken and needs to return to its former state or a lot of people will be unable to be homeowners, which isn't good for the country. Who wants to pay rent forever.

There are people who prefer to rent. The ability to move at a whim, not have to take care of the house/apartment as issues arise, regular maintenance/lawn, etc. Granted, I am not one of those people, but I know several. At the end of the day, this city does need more housing.

[Cermak]

It's much more difficult to buy a home now than 5 years ago. My neighborhood seldom has houses for sale, right it currently has 1 . Before the pandemic we always had a few houses on the market sometimes in the spring 4 or 5. Those days seem to be over. People are reluctant to move anymore, only if they have to because of a job reason or they are maybe downsizing. Most homeowners are just staying put. The housing market is broken and needs to return to its former state or a lot of people will be unable to be homeowners, which isn't good for the country. Who wants to pay rent forever.

There are people who prefer to rent. The ability to move at a whim, not have to take care of the house/apartment as issues arise, regular maintenance/lawn, etc. Granted, I am not one of those people, but I know several. At the end of the day, this city does need more housing.

A homeowner verses a renter will be able to create wealth just by owning a house. I agree there are some situations when renting makes more sense. But overall a person is much better off owning than renting.

[Louie]

It's much more difficult to buy a home now than 5 years ago. My neighborhood seldom has houses for sale, right it currently has 1 . Before the pandemic we always had a few houses on the market sometimes in the spring 4 or 5. Those days seem to be over. People are reluctant to move anymore, only if they have to because of a job reason or they are maybe downsizing. Most homeowners are just staying put. The housing market is broken and needs to return to its former state or a lot of people will be unable to be homeowners, which isn't good for the country. Who wants to pay rent forever.

There are people who prefer to rent. The ability to move at a whim, not have to take care of the house/apartment as issues arise, regular maintenance/lawn, etc. Granted, I am not one of those people, but I know several. At the end of the day, this city does need more housing.

A homeowner verses a renter will be able to create wealth just by owning a house. I agree there are some situations when renting makes more sense. But overall a person is much better off owning than renting.

That's true, but again, everyone leads different lives and has different preferences as to what they value in their living space and what they want to achieve with it. Everyone is entitled to live in the style of their choice and they don't need to view a home as a wealth strategy/investment.