The new ice skating rink in downtown Omaha is a delightful addition to the city's winter attractions. The RiverFront’s Skate Ribbon is in Heartland of America Park. It opened just a few months ago for roller skating and rollerblading. But last week it was transformed into a winter wonderland, offering residents and visitors a unique ice skating experience. The best part. It's free. Skate rentals are available. And you may need to plan ahead. There are 50 slots per half hour. Online reservations are available, but you can also walk up to see if there are openings. The opening of the rink is per ..read more

Last week, I had an amazing opportunity to be interviewed by our local news. During the interview, I discussed what I'm seeing with new construction The founders of Hildy Homes were also interviewed. The clip they played was pretty short, so I decided to expand upon it a little more. You can watch the video above. Or read some of my thoughts below. What Am I Seeing? As of September 2023, plenty of new construction homes are available. In fact, if you're considering between an existing home and new construction, you'll find a wide range of options with new builds. The inventory of existing home ..read more

Memorial Park is one of my favorite places in Omaha. My wife and I used to live in Dundee and spent many nights walking our dog through the park. This year is the iconic landmark's 75th anniversary. And to celebrate the anniversary, the Omaha Parks Foundation is selling a unique art print. It's called "The Original Memorial Park Blueprint." The art print showcases the original blueprint of Memorial Park as envisioned by architect Leo A Daly. Measuring 24 x 36 inches, it's a perfect piece to adorn your walls and celebrate the park's storied past. 100 of the proceeds will go towards special proj ..read more

Did you just get a notice in the mail that your property value shot up? You have time to protest your property value if you think the value is wrong. The 2023 Real Property Valuation Protest process through the Douglas County Board of Equalization is June 1 - 30, 2023. Protests submitted outside of that timeframe cannot be accepted. On June 1, 2023, you will be able to file a protest online. You will also have the option to submit a protest on paper and mail/deliver it to the Board of Equalization. Take the time to make your case before filing your appeal with the Douglas County ..read more

The Professional Remodeling Organization of Nebraska-Iowa will be hosting its annual home remodeling tour event. It will showcase a variety of its renovation projects, designed by the best professionals in the field, completely free to the general public The tour will be available for 2 days only, starting this Saturday, April 22, 2023 and Sunday, April 23, 2023. To sign up for this event, please click here. The event will be a great opportunity to access homes designed and built by the area's most exceptional builders and remodelers. This will allow visitors to gain fresh ideas and inspiratio ..read more

With Creighton heading to the Elite 8, more and more people around the country are Googling “where is Creighton University?” How do I know? I created a website years ago called Omaha Relocation. That site happens to cover a lot of topics about Omaha - including Creighton University. Because of that, the site ranks for a variety of search terms. Here is a chart from Google over the past year with search impressions for Omaha Relocation. That massive spike in the past week is thanks to people searching for information about Creighton University. What exactly are people looking for? Just ignore t ..read more

If you thought higher interest rates would slow down the real estate market, you were wrong.At the end of 2022, the market in the Omaha area did slow down quite a bit.But, things have picked back up.Here's a text from two weeks ago. I’ve written a dozen offers in the past month. Every home except one had multiple offers. In a couple of those cases, there were over 10 offers. Homes are going over asking price - by a lot. If you are thinking of buying a home in this market, make sure you do these three things: Get pre-approved, you need to know how much you can afford. Plus, your offer won’t get ..read more

Even with high interest rates, new construction was still very popular in 2022.  Let's take a look at who builds the most homes per year in the Omaha area (Douglas and Sarpy County). This list is based purely on the number of homes built.    1 - Celebrity Homes If you already live in Omaha, you'll be familiar with Celebrity Homes. And to many of you, it will be no surprise that Celebrity Homes is the biggest home builder in the area. In 2022, they built almost 295 homes in the Douglas and Sarpy County area. Prices for new homes continue to go up, but Celebrity offers some of the ..read more

I just finished one of my longest videos ever. It's a neighborhood tour of the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). The video is really helpful if you have been accepted to medical school or residency. Or if you have taken another type of job.  This video is not just for home buyers. It's for anyone that's new to the area. I cover several neighborhoods including:BlackstoneField ClubAksarbenBensonDundee  And if you are a doctor and are considering buying a home, check out Omaha Physician Loan. It has information on special home buying programs available to doctors ..read more

2022 was a crazy year for real estate. It started off crazy and then interest rates caused a huge shift. Here are some of my predictions for 2023.     Interest Rates At the beginning of 2022, a 30-year fixed mortgage was around 3.11. Today, interest rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage are around 6.25. What a difference a year can make. I don’t know anyone that predicted interest rates to double. My prediction is interest rates will go down but not by much. I think rates for 2023 will be between 5.5 - 6.5. We will not touch 3 or 4. Get used to the new normal.   Home Prices: Omaha h ..read more