Aug. 13--Nebraska's housing market is one of the hottest in the country, and Iowa sales also are up.

As the national economy and housing across the country try to pull out of the recession, Nebraska's existing-home sales rate for the second quarter rose 20 percent from the first three months of the year. That ranks the state fifth nationally.

For the year, Nebraska's rate of existing home sales was up more than 6 percent over the first half of 2008. That ranks Nebraska seventh nationally. Iowa's sales were up 4 percent for the quarter and just under 2 percent for the year.

Across the country, just six states, including Nebraska and Iowa, posted gains in sales of existing homes for both the quarter and the year, according to statistics released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors.

Looking ahead, several state and local real estate officials said they expect the strong activity to continue in the second half of 2009, although they predict some bumps, too.

An $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers -- a key to boosting the housing market -- expires at the end of November. Omaha and Lincoln continue to see dips in home prices, which one official attributed to the number of foreclosed homes sitting available.

Mary Kuhlmann, a managing broker for Lincoln's Woods Bros. Realty and an officer with the Nebraska Association of Realtors, said she sees a steady comeback taking place.

"We hold pretty true to steady-as-you-go climbing," she said.

Nebraska's housing market has always been credited with not overheating during the country's housing boom, so its downturn hasn't been as jarring as in many states.

Nebraska ranks with Idaho, Hawaii, New York and Wisconsin in housing gains for the quarter.

For the year, the biggest increases came in the busted markets of Nevada, Arizona, Florida and California. Nebraska's 6 percent increase for the year is far behind Nevada's 77 percent rise.

"We're not on that roller coaster ride," said Vince Leisey, president of Omaha's Prudential Ambassador Real Estate and president of the state Realtor association.

In the Omaha area, the number of pending home sales has risen every month since March when compared with the year prior. Through June, the number of homes placed under contract was up almost 7 percent, according to figures from the Omaha Area Board of Realtors.

That took a jump in July, and pending sales in the Omaha area now are up almost 10 percent for the year.

The year's early gains largely came in the starter-home market -- a credit to the federal housing stimulus.

Now the activity is showing signs of spreading into higher-priced homes.

A new report from NP Dodge Real Estate shows that pending sales in July in the $150,000 to $249,999 range were up more than 27 percent compared with last July.

Robert Wiebusch, operations director for NP Dodge, said that's a good indicator that the rest of the year will be strong.

"We're trending in the right direction, it looks like, which has us very excited," Wiebusch said.

Even though houses are selling, home prices have been falling.

In the Omaha metro area, the median sales price for the second quarter was $134,900 compared with $138,000 in 2008, according to the national Realtors report. In Lincoln, the median sales price for the quarter was down a modest .3 percent -- from $133,500 to $133,100.

Joe Gehrki, a CBSHome agent who is president of the Omaha Area Board of Realtors, said foreclosures continue to drag down the overall figures on home prices, and the market needs more time to work through that supply of homes.

Leisey said that unless something unforeseen happens to the economy, the rest of 2009 will end up much stronger than last year. Still, he's cautious about the end of the tax credit and the slow winter months.

"We're not completely out of the woods here."

Contact the writer:

444-1128, jeff.robb@owh.com

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