Cheapest Cities to Buy a House in Nebraska (2026)
The 5 cheapest Nebraska cities by median closed price, from $214,900 in Hastings to $310,000 in Lincoln, with what houses cost per square foot, what resales did, and how fast listings go.
Every Nebraska city below cleared 100 closings in its window and is ranked by the median price homes actually closed at, not the asking price. The columns beside it are the questions that follow a low price: what you pay per square foot, what the same homes did on resale, and how quickly listings go.
The ranking
| # | City | Median closed price | Houses $/sqft | Realized appreciation | Days to contract | Closings | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hastings | $214,900 | $119 | 5.63%/yr | 22 | 209 | six months |
| 2 | Grand Island | $279,950 | $193 | 5.66%/yr | 12 | 306 | six months |
| 3 | Omaha | $285,000 | $159 | 5.21%/yr | 7 | 2,764 | six months |
| 4 | Bellevue | $287,000 | $154 | 4.43%/yr | 5 | 370 | six months |
| 5 | Lincoln | $310,000 | $168 | 4.45%/yr | 9 | 2,293 | six months |
1. Hastings, $214,900
The median closed price in Hastings is $214,900 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 68 percent of the state figure. 209 closings sit behind that figure, about 35 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $119 per square foot across 184 sales with usable living area. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 5.63 percent a year (381 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 22 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. Full detail is on the Hastings market page.
2. Grand Island, $279,950
Grand Island's median closed price over the last six months was $279,950, around 89 percent of what the typical Nebraska sale closed at. 306 closings sit behind that figure, about 51 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $193 per square foot across 276 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 5.66 percent a year between those sales, on 884 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. The median listed home was under contract in 12 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Grand Island market page.
3. Omaha, $285,000
Homes in Omaha closed at a median of $285,000 over the last six months, about 90 percent of the Nebraska statewide median. 2,764 closings sit behind that figure, about 461 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $159 per square foot across 2,490 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 5.21 percent a year between those sales, on 14,886 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 7 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. Full detail is on the Omaha market page.
4. Bellevue, $287,000
The median closed price in Bellevue is $287,000 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 91 percent of the state figure. 370 closings sit behind that figure, about 62 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $154, measured on 352 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 4.43 percent a year (2,101 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home was under contract in 5 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Bellevue market page.
5. Lincoln, $310,000
The median closed price in Lincoln is $310,000 across the last six months, roughly in line with the state as a whole. 2,293 closings sit behind that figure, about 382 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $168 per square foot across 1,831 sales with usable living area. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 4.45 percent a year (10,680 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home was under contract in 9 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Lincoln market page.
Note: realized appreciation is the one column measured on the postal city, from repeat sales of the same home across the ZIP codes that share the city's name; every other figure is confined to the municipal boundary.
How to read this list
A low median is where the analysis starts, not where it ends. Property type, size, condition and block move a number far more than the city line does, so check any address on this list against its own comparable closings.
Figures last updated September 5, 2026 from closings Resideline tracked. Appreciation is the median annual change between consecutive sales of the same home; it is historical, nominal and not a projection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest city to buy a house in Nebraska?
Hastings, with a median closed price of $214,900 over its reporting window, among Nebraska cities where Resideline tracked at least 100 closings inside the city limits.
Are these asking prices or sale prices?
Closed sale prices. Every price median is the price homes actually closed at inside the municipal boundary, not a listing price. The one column measured differently is realized appreciation, which uses the postal city, as the note under the table says.
Why does a cheap city show a high price per square foot?
Because the ranking median covers every property type that closed, condos and multi-family included, while the $/sqft column is single-family houses only. In cities where most sales are condos, the median price is low and the house $/sqft can still be high.
Is the appreciation figure a forecast?
No. It is the median annual change between consecutive sales of the same home, on repeat-sale pairs. It is historical and nominal, and it says what happened, not what will.
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