Lincoln has been named the second-healthiest home market in the country, according to a recent survey.
A released last week by personal finance website SmartAsset put Lincoln just behind Buffalo, New York, in a ranking of 80 cities with populations of 200,000 or more.
According to the report, Lincoln did better than the nation as a whole in every category assessed for the ranking, including average time people live in their homes, percentage of homes losing value, percentage of mortgage holders with negative equity and cost of housing compared with income.
The latest home sales figures show just how healthy the market has continued to be.
Despite a rough June, in which home sales fell more than 12% compared with a year ago, sales overall are up nearly 4% compared with a year ago in the Lincoln area, according to data from the Great Plains Regional Multiple Listing Service.
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That's about the same as the rate of sales growth over the past year, which is just over 4%.
"We continue to grow, but at a more sustainable pace than we witnessed in 2017 and 2018 when low inventory and pent-up demand drove the Lincoln market,†Kyle Fischer, executive vice president of the Realtors Association of Lincoln, said in an email.
Inventory continues to be an issue, as there were fewer than 800 homes on the market at the end of June, which is down about 50 from June 2018. The inventory shortage is especially acute in the existing-home market.
That is likely a factor in home prices continuing to rise. They are up about 5.5% over the past 12 months, although the pace has slowed down a bit, with the rise so far this year only about 2% compared with the same period in 2018.
Fisher said that's a good sign, though.
“The Lincoln market continues to stabilize from years of consistent double digit-percentage home price increases," he said.
Despite that, Fischer said affordability continues to be an issue for some buyers.
The Great Plains Regional MLS now reports a Housing Affordability Index, and as of June, Lincoln's was 143, which means the median income in Lincoln is 143% of the income needed to qualify for a loan on a median-priced home. That's down slightly from 146 at the same a year ago.
"So far this year our affordability index has remained flat, but increases in interest rates or other outside factors could have an effect on our local market," Fischer said. "The bottom line is, we need to do all we can to increase our housing stock and continue to bring more homes on the market, especially in homes under $200,000.â€