KC Fed: Nebraska Home Prices Increase 6th Fastest

Nebraska’s housing market was relatively stable compared to states that experienced a major housing bubble, and a limited supply of new housing in many communities has contributed to a long-running seller’s market.

A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City shows these factors have boosted Nebraska to near the front of the pack in the growth of home prices over the last decade.

Nebraska recorded the sixth-fastest rate of growth in home prices from 2008-2018, increasing 26 percent over the past decade.

While that figure is still dwarfed by the growth of home prices in Colorado (52 percent) and Texas (44 percent), it outpaces many fast-growing states like Utah (19 percent), Oregon, or Tennessee (both 21 percent).

An issue to watch with the increase in home prices is the long-term impact on residential property taxes. Nebraska’s property tax rates are already the seventh highest on average, and Nebraskans often pay property tax on a larger percentage of their home value than taxpayers in other states.
 
Many state policymakers are accustomed to thinking of property taxes as a rural issue that acutely impacts farmers and ranchers, but increasing home prices could mean increased pressure on urban and suburban homeowners in the years ahead.

Learn more in our latest report on property tax reform.