I wrote a story a couple of weeks ago about how the pandemic has not had much of an effect on the real estate market in Lincoln, with sales through the first half of the year virtually level with where they were a year ago.
It turns out people aren't just interested in houses in the city.
Luke Wallace, an agent with Whitetail Trophy Properties, said there is strong interest in land in Southeast Nebraska.
Wallace said the interest in large acreages and small farms is the strongest he's seen it since he started working for the company in 2013.
He said he's seen the most interest in properties that are between 60 and 140 acres, and most buyers are looking for land for recreational purposes rather than farming.
Wallace said most buyers are from Nebraska, with about 70% from Lincoln or Omaha. They often are looking for something within reasonable driving distance of one or both cities.
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He said his territory goes from York east to the Iowa border and all the way south to Kansas and, "there's interest almost everywhere."
Wallace said that on a volume basis, he's already surpassed the number of transactions he did all of last year.
On the market for $3.5M
Speaking of "trophy properties," a home for sale just outside Lincoln is apparently the most expensive one on the market in the state.
The 16,000-square-foot home on 78 acres near 142nd and Holdrege streets is currently listed for $3.5 million. If it gets anywhere close to that amount, it would be the most expensive residential property sale in the history of Lancaster County.
featured the home on its website earlier this month. In addition to six bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, the home features an indoor basketball court and a large entertainment/reception area with a stage. Outside, the property has two ponds and also will be hosting part of a planned solar farm in the area.
Though the home has been viewed nearly 24,000 times on the listing agent's , the right buyer with the right-sized bank account has yet to come along, as the house has been on the market for about nine months.
Allo continues to be among fastest internet providers
As Allo Communications continues to grow, it would be understandable if it struggled to keep up its ultra-fast internet speeds.
According to the most recent financial report released by its owner, Nelnet, the Lincoln-based company added more than 10,000 customers in the past year.
But the latest ranking of the country's fastest internet providers shows that growth is not putting any strain on the company's internet speeds.
Allo's average download speed grew to 178.5 megabits per second this year, according to , up from 155.8 in 2019 and 142.4 in 2018.
Despite the increase in speeds, Allo's rank among the fastest internet service providers actually dropped as faster providers popped up in Minneapolis and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The company fell to ninth overall and fourth in the north-central region. That's down from eighth and second last year.
Listing the lists
Regular readers of this column know I sometimes like to end it with a rundown of recent rankings of Lincoln and/or Nebraska in national reports. Here are the latest ones:
* 3rd-best city in which to rent ()
* 10th-best city for first-time home buyers ()
* 19th fittest city in America ()
Best of the Buzz
Excerpts from recent Biz Buzz posts:
* A former Payless ShoeSource location near 27th and Superior streets will be repurposed into a restaurant that is new to Lincoln.
A $275,000 building permit filed earlier last month lists Wingstop as the tenant for the former shoe store at 2740 Superior St.
Wingstop, a Texas-based chain, has more than 1,000 locations nationally, including four in the Omaha area. This would be the first one in Lincoln.
Photos: Lincoln set to welcome Scarlet Hotel
Go to to read more Biz Buzz posts.
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