Douglas County West, along the Elkhorn River
Waterloo & Valley
Two small towns past the western edge of the metro, with the Elkhorn River between them and Flatwater Lake at Valley. Close enough that the commute is real. Far enough that the character is completely different from anything inside 204th.
The Waterloo & Valley market
Awaiting MLS feed- Median list price
- ——
- Across active inventory
- Median price per sq ft
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- Sold, trailing 90 days
- Median days on market
- ——
- Sold, trailing 90 days
- Active listings
- ——
- Updated with the feed
These figures populate from the Great Plains Regional MLS once the team’s IDX agreement covers this domain. Nothing here is estimated in the meantime. Mapped to Waterloo, Valley.
What you are actually buying
Space, mostly. Lot sizes here start where West Omaha lot sizes end, and acreages are ordinary rather than exceptional. The housing stock is a genuine mix — century-old farmhouses, 1970s ranches, and new builds on ground that was row crop five years ago.
The lake lots at Valley are their own market entirely. Flatwater is a sandpit lake, which means clear water, and the properties on it trade on water frontage and boat access rather than on square footage. A buyer comparing a lake lot to an inland house on price per foot is comparing two things that have nothing to do with each other.
The honest caveats
This is river bottom country. Flood plain status is not an afterthought here — it is the first thing to check on any property, it drives insurance, and it has driven some very hard years. The 2019 flooding is recent enough that everyone involved remembers it.
Services are thinner. Well and septic are common rather than rare, and that is a different set of inspections and a different maintenance budget than city water and sewer.
Schools
- Douglas County West Community Schools
- Serves Valley and Waterloo. Small enough that the graduating class knows each other.
District boundaries change and are the district’s to publish. Confirm assignment for any specific address before it matters to your decision.
Who it suits
- Buyers who want land and are willing to trade commute for it
- Anyone looking at lake property on Flatwater
- People comfortable with well, septic and a flood plain conversation
- Less suited to a buyer who wants walkable services or a short drive to Aksarben