Des Moines-area builders expand into Omaha and beyond.
Story By Tracy Dickinson | May 2026
Over 150 years ago the phrase “Go West, young man!” encouraged the development of communities in what is now Nebraska and places beyond.
Today a new type of expansion is taking place. Des Moines-area home builders are taking their expertise into the Omaha market and finding it offers a promising future.
Hubbell Realty Company first began looking into the Omaha market after acquiring a multifamily portfolio that included properties in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Kyle Gamble, President & CEO at Hubbell, says, “After we acquired those properties, we began talking about the possibility of expanding along that I-80 corridor. Whenever we consider a new market area, we’re looking at places that have markets similar to Des Moines and Central Iowa with a similar demographic. Omaha certainly met, and in some cases exceeded, those criteria.”
In 2015, when the company began researching options, fate stepped in. “We had an associate here at Hubbell who had a prior relationship with some of the team at The Home Company, one of the top builders in the Omaha area,” Gamble says. “They just got to talking and introduced the topic, and things slowly moved forward from there.”
By 2019 a group of companies, including The Home Company, Premier Land Title Company, and Boyer Young Land Development (now The Land Company), became Hubbell-owned entities.
“We were fortunate to enter the Omaha market with such an excellent team,” says Gamble. “Their leadership and associates brought decades of expertise, a trusted reputation, and a long tenure in the local home building market. They’ve been named Best Builder in Omaha for a decade. That allowed us to hit the ground running, and we didn’t have to start from scratch.”
Last year Sage Homes followed Hubbell’s lead and broke ground on its first two homes near Omaha. “We’d had our eye on the Omaha area for a while,” says owner Chris Pickard. “It’s a similar market to Des Moines, and we have family there, so it was a natural place to go. But it was early 2020 when we started looking into it, and of course COVID put all that on hold.”
The company started exploring the market again in 2024 and found the ideal opportunity to dip into the region. “There was a local developer who is something of a legend in Omaha. He had just a few lots left in a subdivision that was going to be his last big project before he retired,” says Pickard. “We were able to get those lots, and being part of one of his projects gave us the introduction we needed in a lot of ways.”
Pickard says it also helped to have Hubbell in the neighborhood. “We bought some lots from Hubbell, too, and just having them there, having their team as a resource has been great.”
While Hubbell entered the Omaha market via an existing company with long-term relationships, vendors, and subs, Pickard says Sage benefited from its own long-term relationships here in central Iowa. “We did have a number of current vendors that serve the Omaha area, so we were able to work with them there, too. And we had suppliers who gave us leads from wholesalers and other vendors who were looking at expanding and were just willing to send a crew to Omaha when we needed them.”
When possible, Pickard says they try to hire local labor to work with the company’s own lead, bringing the best of both to the job. “Having our own lead there ensures that the project will meet the standards we expect, that things will be done the way we do them. But having a local team gives us the opportunity to bridge that new relationship,” he says.
Pickard says he also wants to respect the tight-knit home building industry in Omaha. “It’s not an easy industry to break into,” he says, “and they move at a different pace than we’re used to in central Iowa. Paperwork, permits, all those things just take longer. We’ve had to adjust to some of those things while still maintaining the standards we set for ourselves as a company.”
Sage has sold six homes already and anticipates closing on about two dozen in 2026, doubling that for 2027.
“One of our long-term project managers has taken the lead in Omaha. We found a local REALTOR® who’s just been great, really partnering with buyers. And we’re looking for a couple of other team members to be based there in Omaha,” says Pickard. “When we started looking into expanding, we saw that what we offer in Des Moines was lacking in Omaha. We intend to offer the same product there because that’s what we’re good at and what we’ve built our name on—full customization, transparent pricing, and a high-quality build.”
Gamble says for Hubbell, the company’s entry into the Omaha market was a launching pad for a variety of market segments. “It gave us the opportunity to develop land in the Omaha area, and having those existing teams helped accelerate that. We were able to start multifamily, industrial, and single-family projects pretty quickly after entering the market, and we’re completing some exciting projects already this year.”
In addition, Hubbell Realty has started its first projects in Lincoln, Nebraska, with some single-family homes under way for the 2026 season.
“Lincoln was a natural progression from Omaha,” Gamble says. “It’s a strong market with a favorable demographic that fits with our product. And that’s how we like to grow our presence—with an existing team that’s a good fit and in a similar market. We just continue to do what we do, and that’s worked well.”
Both companies have found that local connections along with long-term relationships have made growth possible. As more and more suppliers, subcontractors, and builders follow the lead Hubbell and Sage have begun, we’re seeing a modern twist on the old adage. “Go West, young man, and grow up with the country” has become “Go West, y’all, and grow with the community.”