The real estate crises in North Platte

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) - Housing in North Platte is hard to come by, and real estate agents are taking a huge hit. The lack of developers and the increasing interest rates and inflation, it is making their jobs more difficult.

“Historically, there were more developers in town, and their list included a lot of them, especially with the price of lumber, labor, and everything else. They kind of said we’re out, we can’t do this anymore,” Gateway’s real estate agent Aaron Vieyra stated.

Vieyra is optimistic about this just being a temporary setback for the industry.

“With all of the projects going on in North Platte, such as the mall, sustainable beef, and the rail park, which could include a casino, things will pick up,” Vieyra predicted.

He acknowledged that another part of the problem is getting people to stay in town, which has been a hurdle for some time.

“Overall, with the projects, we’re looking at, obviously all businesses are having trouble finding employees; however, I believe it will happen if we think positively; hopefully, people will realize that we have some good paying jobs in town and want to come to North Platte.”

There is some optimism in the air as North Platte is finally evolving and reinventing itself as the railroad business is slowly dying. Vieyra mentioned there was one last thing that needed to be addressed. “The only thing that might hold us back is a lack of development for housing; that’s what we need, whether it’s apartments or housing.”

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