Weekly Market Report – December 14, 2023

Dolomiti – Pizzeria & Enoteca plans to open soon at 1125 North 13th Street in the Ashton Building. That’s part of North Downtown’s Millwork Commons district. Dolomiti will have woodfired pizzas, seasonal salads, cheese and salumi, panini sandwiches and wine. “The restaurant will have a European style, crafted with local ingredients and brought to life by local entrepreneurs…”

MacDaro’s Pub & Pizzeria at 10746 South 204th Avenue in Gretna is converting into another location of Hurrdat Sports Bar & Grill. The reopening is expected to occur early next week. Hurrdat has an existing sports bar at 12744 Westport Parkway in La Vista.

Construction has gone vertical on a second Burger Detour building before the first one has even opened. Locally owned Burger Detour’s first location will be at 183rd & West Maple Road – it’s getting close to opening. The second one will be on the southeast corner of 204th & Pacific Street.

NetPar has opened in the Capitol District downtown. Net Par is an upscale, indoor simulated golf business that also serves craft beers, handcrafted cocktails, a curated wine list and a limited menu of elevated bar food. The three previously existing NetPar locations are all in the state of Indiana.

The Winery, located just east of the Westroads in Clocktower Village, has changed its name to The Winery & Deli. The business started in 1986 but closed in 2019. New owners reopened The Winery a year ago and are planning a ceremonial ribbon cutting to celebrate the first anniversary on December 19th.

Pure Salon will open a new hair salon early next summer at 1404 North 203rd Street, according to Investors Realty.

Lockwood Development reported on its Facebook page that Starbuck’s and Chipotle Mexican Grill are both slated to open in early 2024 in newly constructed buildings in the Antler View development near 186th & West Maple Road.

The “Restaurant & Retail Updates” section is sponsored by Anderson Convenience Market, featuring Quality AMOCO Fuels and serving Omaha since 1952, and proud to announce the return of Quality Amoco Fuels. Look for changes this Summer at Anderson Convenience Market – 8 Omaha area locations!

Learn more about Anderson Convenience market at www.Anderson1952.com

Omaha Gross “Metropolitan” Product Cracks the Top 50

You’re familiar with the term Gross Domestic Product. It’s the total of goods and services produced by a nation is a given period of time. U.S. GDP, by the way, is $23.1trillion, which makes it the world’s largest economy.

But did you know that GDP is measured for metro areas too? The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis has released updated 2022 GDP data for all 384 metro areas in the United States.

For the first time, Omaha cracked the Top 50. That’s significant when you consider that Omaha’s population of just under 1 million people makes it only the 56th largest metro area.

Economically, Omaha punches above its weight.

The 2022 GDP for the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Statistical Area was more than $85 billion. That means Omaha produces more economic output than Buffalo, Albany, Birmingham, Grand Rapids, Rochester, Honolulu and Des Moines. Omaha is just a little behind Louisville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Memphis.

Here are a few selected metro areas in our region:

#3 Chicago = $832 billion+

#15 Minneapolis-St. Paul = $323 billion+

#18 Denver = $288 billion+

#24 St. Louis = $209 billion+

#32 Kansas City = $169 billion+

#50 Omaha = $85 billion+

#57 Des Moines = $67 billion+

#81 Colorado Springs = $47 billion+

#87 Wichita = $43 billion+

#125 Sioux Falls = $27 billion+

#135 Fort Collins = $25 billion+

#137 Lincoln = $25 billion+

#154 Cedar Rapids = $21 billion+

#168 Fargo = $18 billion+

#233 Sioux City = $10 billion+

Special thanks to Grow Omaha contributor Lou Chiganos for researching this data.

The Omaha City Council approved rezoning requests necessary to pave the way for a 4-story, 195-unit apartment building near Saddle Creek Road & Mason Street. The Midtown site is immediately south of a Baker’s Supermarket and west of the BOS Apartments. The project includes a small amount of commercial space. Construction should begin next summer with completion planned for 2026.

Oakview Mall has new ownership, according to KETV. Felix Reznick of 4th Dimension Property, purchased the 859,000 sq. ft. mall, which he had previously co-owned with Kohan Retail Investment Group. Reznick plans to add new entertainment concepts and children’s entertainment.

The state of Nebraska has signed a $500,000, no-bid contract back in August with Omaha Philanthropic Trust to determine the feasibility of raising in excess of $900 million in private money to help build a 4,000-acre, sandpit lake along the Platte River near Gretna, according to Nebraska Examiner.

The Opus Gr​oup has started construction on the Storz Warehouse, a speculative, industrial/flex project at 5902 North 9th street. Opus is constructing the building for Omaha-based GreenSlate Development. The 202,000 sq. ft. building will sit on an 11.5-acre site near Eppley Airport. The building is named after north Omaha’s historic Storz Brewery.

A few weeks ago, we told you about a 5-story apartment project planned for the southeast corner of 50th & Leavenworth. We now know the project’s name: Walter Apartments. The number of units has increased from 53 to 58. Construction is scheduled to start May 1st with completion planned for October of 2025.

Hot Corner Executive Suites have been completed at 6420 South 193rd Street, just northwest of 192nd & Harrison Street, according to Lee & Associates. The recently constructed building has full-service office suites ranging from 110 sq. ft. to 1,108 sq. ft.

A national law firm has leased 12,598 sq. ft. in the Farnam Executive Center in Old Mill South at 10810 Farnam Drive, according to RE Journals. The 4-story, 92,242 sq. ft. building was recently purchased by Omaha-based White Lotus Group and overlooks Interstate 680.

Two small apartment projects are planned for the north Omaha. Plans call for a 3-story, 3-unit building to be constructed on an 8,187 sq. ft. lot on the northwest corner of 16th & Spencer Street. At 1609 Binney Street, the Allas Apartments were recently renovated. Now the same owner plans to convert an adjacent, commercial building into four affordable apartment units.

Grow Omaha Snippets are brought to you by Omaha Car Care with four metro area locations – 131st & Dodge, 58th & Center, 85th & L and 144th & Harrison.

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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold $28.7 billion of stock in the first three quarters of 2023 in a move that some economists have interpreted as ringing alarm bells for the American economy, according to Newsweek. Berkshire sold a net $10.4 billion of stock in the first quarter of the year. In the second quarter, it sold close to $13 billion of shares and bought less than $5 billion. In the third quarter, it sold about $5.3 billion worth of stocks.

Omaha-based White River Soy Processing, LLC been chosen to develop a $400 million oilseed processing plant at Hersey Rail Park, a 300-acre industrial rail park near Hershey, Neb., according to Nebraska Examiner. The company produces soybean meal and oil at facilities across the country.

Union Pacific Corporation will release fourth quarter 2023 financial and operating results on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, at 6:45 a.m. The company’s management team will host a conference call and live webcast at 7:45 a.m.

The HDR Foundation announced 23 grants totaling $1.32 million — the foundation’s largest slate of grants since its inception. Each grant is sponsored by an HDR employee with a personal connection to the nonprofit.

The Mutual of Omaha Foundation has partnered with One Tree Planted to support the Eglin Air Force Base Reforestation Project. The Foundation provided a charitable grant to support the planting of nearly 29,000 trees on the base. Located in the Florida panhandle, Eglin is the largest Air Force base in the world. It’s also home to more than 123 endangered species who live among the base’s 465,000 acres of land and 130,000 square miles of water ranges.

Grace Plaza Apartments at 2005 Florence Boulevard recently sold for $1.68 million, according to Maddie Graeve of NAI NP Dodge, who represented the seller. The 21,288 sq. ft. building has 24 apartment units.

Berkshire Hathaway has acquired nearly 10.5 million shares of Occidental Petroleum so far this week for about $588.7 million, according to Yahoo Finance. The purchases bring Berkshire’s stake in Occidental to about 27%.

Unlimited Innovations, a custom cabinet showroom, will open for business soon at 1507 North 203rd Street, according to Investors Realty.

Scoular will have the ability to develop regenerative sourcing programs with its customers, thanks to a new partnership between the company and Regrow. The companies announced that they have signed an agreement for Regrow to be the measurement, reporting and verification partner for Scoular’s regenerative agriculture sourcing program. Regrow enables companies in the agriculture supply chain to support net-zero objectives through science-based GHG measurement, impact reporting, and program verification to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This section is sponsored by FranNet of The Heartland, the local, trusted franchise experts. They are “in the business of helping you get into business!”

Omaha Real Estate November Numbers

By Joe Finlay

There are a number of factors affecting today’s real estate market, including the seasonal nature of home sales, but the biggest news is that mortgage rates have decreased five weeks in a row. Let’s take a look at how those factors have affected the monthly and year-to-date numbers in Douglas and Sarpy Counties.

Douglas County Existing Homes
There were more closed residential sales in November 2023 than November 2022. The median sale price in November was $275,000, up almost 6 percent compared to the same time last year.

According to FreddieMac, interest rates in November 2022 were almost an entire point lower than they were in November 2023, but sale prices in Douglas County continued to rise.

Douglas County New Construction
New construction sales remain steady compared to last year with median sale prices hovering around $435,000. The availability of new construction homes continues to rise since the pandemic with about 450 homes under construction or completed in November.

Sarpy County Existing Homes
The number of sold properties in Sarpy County was down a little in November, but similar to Douglas County, prices were up from last year. The median sale price for existing homes in Sarpy County was $305,000 in November, up almost 11 percent from last year.

Sarpy County New Construction
New construction numbers in Sarpy County looks very similar to Douglas County with about 500 available homes under construction or completed and a median sale price of $430,000.

Bottom Line
Mortgage rates are forecasted to decrease over the course of the next year. There’s no doubt in my mind that we will see another competitive spring market. For those interested in finding a great deal on an existing home, this winter might be the perfect time. Prices are often lower in the winter than the spring, and interest rates seem to be declining. Let’s connect and talk through your selling or buying options.

Grow Omaha Residential is developed and sponsored by Joe Finlay, REALTOR with NP Dodge Real Estate.

LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

The share of employed U.S. women ages 25-54 recently hit a record 75.3 percent, according to the Wharton School of Business at Penn. This is almost one percentage point higher than its previous peaks in the spring of 2000 and just before the pandemic, and 6 percentage points higher than a decade ago.

With firms in some sectors battered by inflation and interest-rate hikes and others still stinging from layoffs earlier in 2023, many employers are taking a more muted approach to celebrations this holiday season, according to the Wall Street Journal. A recent LinkedIn survey of 6,000 people found that 55 percent were planning to skip their company’s holiday party this year.

Salespeople tend to be focused on the next deal, the next month or maybe the next quarter. Rarely do they think about setting themselves up for next year and beyond. Sales managers need to be thinking 12, 24 and even 36 months or more into the future. That’s especially true when it comes to recruiting and retaining sales talent.

The consumer price index increased 0.1 percent in November, and was up 3.1 percent from a year ago, according to CNBC. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for no gain and a yearly rate of 3.1 percent. While the monthly rate indicated a pickup from the flat CPI reading in October, the annual rate showed another decline after hitting 3.2 percent a month earlier.

SALES

Here’s a tip to keep customers happy courtesy of Michael Dalton Johnson’s article in Sales Gravy: Use positive and persuasive language! Instead of saying, “We can’t ship your order until next Tuesday,” say, “We can ship your order as early as next Tuesday.”

An analysis of 2,200 U.S. companies found that those who attempted to reach leads in less than one hour, were nearly seven times likelier to have meaningful conversations with decision makers than those who waited even an hour, according to Spotio.

BradBird gives you an edge when competing for customers. There are 40 modules, each a different topic. Modules include a video and matching workbook. It’s only $79 per month and group discounts are available. You can cancel at any time. If you’re an action-taker, click HERE and get started now!

WISDOM

“There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he does not mind who gets the credit.” – Ronald Reagan

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Did you know the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s primary care program is ranked seventh in the nation?

Did you know that Father Flanagan’s desk was made by the residents of Boys Town and consists of hundreds of thousands of pieces of inlaid wood? The desk took nearly three years to complete and can still be seen in his house today.

Did you know that Omaha-based Union Pacific Railroad has 32,534 miles of track in 23 states?

This section is sponsored by Lockbox Storage, an affiliate of Omaha-based McGregor Interests Inc. We provide storage solutions for all of your storage needs. Our facilities have full-time managers and bright lighting to provide superior security for your belongings. In addition to space for rent, we also provide packing supplies, protection plans and locks along with complimentary handcarts and dollies. Visit LockBox Storage and let us help you with all your storage needs.

Bright Nights happening on December 8th-23rd and 26th-30th: Set a merry mood with friends and family and explore the illuminated indoor gardens on select nights. From a 20-fott tall poinsettia tree to a tropical paradise, see festive installations that glow and shine, and showcase nature in a new light. Happening on select nights at Lauritzen Gardens. Reserve your tickets now!

Winter Wonderland happening daily until January 2nd (Closed on December 24th, 25th and January 1st): Every December, Fontenelle Forest’s Great Hall becomes a magical Winter Wonderland, offering a unique holiday experience amidst its distinct setting. Create lasting family memories with this new tradition, featuring an array of beautifully decorated trees and wreaths. Plus, enjoy a delightful walk along the illuminated Riverview Boardwalk for an enchanting outdoor experience.

Candlelight Holiday Special featuring “The Nutcracker” and More on December 19th and 20th: The Rose Theatre is hosting a Candlelight Holiday concert! Featuring special holiday music from the Nutcracker and a few more musical surprises. This is a multi-sensory musical experience with candles illuminating the room during the live performance. Reserve your tickets before they sell out!

Skip the Small Talk Omaha (Speed-Friending) on December 20th: Come out for a speed-friending night, designed for deep, meaningful conversations often shared late at night. Participants can come alone or with friends to engage in “big talk” conversations, facilitated by prompts and structured to ensure comfortable and non-awkward interactions. Ground rules are set to create a safe, comfortable environment for sharing personal thoughts while maintaining control over privacy. The event check-in starts at 6:00 p.m. and attendees are encouraged to arrive by 6:30 p.m. for a timely start.

Night Light: Glow on December 21st: Play at adults-only Thursday nights with exhibits and provocative programs that will expand your brain and spark joy. As the nights grow longer, make plans to join others for ‘Night Light Glow’ — a joyful exhibition of light, art, and science happening every Thursday until January 11! Explore glowing art from international and local artists, and exhibits and activities that play with light. During Night Light Glow, you’ll be able to explore bioluminescence, glowing chemistry experiments, the human need for light in the darkness, and more!

This Upcoming Events section is sponsored by Eagle Mortgage Company, is a locally owned and full-service mortgage company in Omaha.

Eagle Mortgage can help you realize your dream of owning a home.

Grow Sarpy has named Lisa Scheve as executive director effective January 8th. She will be responsible for driving economic development in Sarpy County and leading business and industry expansion. She had been director of economic development at the Greater Omaha Chamber. She previously held leadership positions with the economic development agencies in Washington and Cass counties.

Lamp Rynearson, an Omaha-based civil engineering firm, is promoting Robin Matthes to Chief Financial Officer upon the retirement of current CFO Brett Wawers at the end of this month. The company has appointed April Will as controller.

Tom Oldham has been promoted to Chief Compliance, Privacy and Ethics Officer at Mutual of Omaha. He joined Mutual in 2012 as a compliance consultant. He was promoted to director of MOIS securities compliance in 2012, director of compliance and risk operations in 2017 and director of enterprise privacy and compliance risk in 2020. Oldham attended Creighton University and was selected in the 8th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft by the Seattle Mariners.

WoodmenLife has appointed Kyle Savage as vice president, sales & president, Woodmen Insurance Agency. With this promotion, he will add leadership of the sales operations department to his previous responsibilities, which include managing a team of sales regions across the country.

The “People in the News” section is sponsored by Baird Holm LLP. Baird Holm’s dedicated team of real estate lawyers has extensive experience in all aspects of real estate law, including purchases, sales, zoning and land use, leasing, and dispute resolution. Click HERE for more information.

Americans love fads and Wall Street loves Americans who love fads. When it’s a must-have item, people tend to forget to ask “How much.” The problem with fads is that they end faster than they begin.

Back in the day, when I was a young buck of a broker, the fad du jure was a group of stocks called the Nifty-Fifty. Today we refer to them as “Blue Chips.”

There were a gaggle of stocks that were guaranteed to be home runs. It included such names as General Electric, IBM, 3M, Disney, Walmart and Xerox. It also included some names that have since passed into the corporate grave yard. The kaput list includes Sears, Schlitz, Polaroid, S. S. Kresge and Simplicity Pattern.

During the 1980s, in order to be one of the pretty people, you had to own the Nifty-Fifty. This included the Oracle of Omaha. At every Berkshire meeting, he and Charlie would pound the table and say, “We own them and our holding period is forever.” The only one Berkshire has left is Coke.

Cramer and his CNBC acolytes, have named the current investment fad du jure, “The Magnificent Seven.” They are Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Tesla and Facebook. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Magnificent Seven are the driving force behind this year’s double-digit market gain. The WSJ also believes they are overpriced and about to go the way of the Dodo bird, leaving investors holding a flaming bag of dog droppings.

There is an element of truth to the WSJ position, but it needs some clarification in order to evaluate where individual investors stand and how they will successfully navigate Mr. Market’s next manic-depressive mood swing.

First of all, the majority of individual investors don’t own individual stocks. Collectively they own $12 trillion worth of index funds. Secondly, it ignores how market indexes are constructed. The S&P 500 is weighted by market cap, and since the Magnificent Seven are in the S&P, their combined weight constitutes 23 percent of the market’s movement. Thus, the WSJ is correct in saying that if or when the magnificent seven take a big hit, so will the market.

But there is a significant point the WSJ is missing. If the Magnificent Seven take a hit, their market cap will drop, and their index leadership will be replaced by the next generation of stocks on their way up. We know that Standard & Poor’s periodically adjusts the index’s holdings as their market cap changes. We are missing part of the puzzle: we don’t know exactly when that occurs. Moral of the story: the strong will grow and drive the market. Informed investors will not try to outsmart Mr. Market and will instead “Forget the needle and buy the haystack.”

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The Grow Omaha radio show broadcasts live every Saturday morning at 9:00, but now you can watch videos of each episode instead of just listening.

Grow Omaha’s brand-new website features video footage shot inside the radio studio during each week’s show!

Videos include News of the Week, Lightning Round, guest interviews, and “Grow Omaha Uncut,” a behind-the-scenes look at what happens during commercial breaks.

Support the Grow “O” Mission

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