Lincoln, NE Rental Market for Investors
An estimated 56% of Lincoln's active listings could cash-flow as a short-term rental — here's what the numbers say for investors, as of October 2026.
As of October 2026, we analyzed 1,049 active for-sale homes in Lincoln, Nebraska. The typical listing is priced at $389,900 and is projected to generate about $39,311 a year as a short-term rental.
After setting aside an estimated 20% for operating costs, an estimated 55.5% of those homes could still cover an investor mortgage payment on short-term-rental income — roughly in line with the 53.1% median across the 200 major metros we track, ranking Lincoln #89 of 200 for cash-flow potential.
On market momentum: homes in Lincoln sit a median of 32 days on the market, and 47% of active listings came on in just the last 30 days — a fast-moving market, which shapes how much room there is to negotiate.
For a DSCR loan — which qualifies on the property's rental income rather than your personal income — that's a relatively healthy setup: in Lincoln, a meaningful share of listings throw off enough short-term-rental income, after costs, to cover an estimated investor mortgage payment.
What actually works in Lincoln
Lincoln works for investors, but the window is specific: 211 of the 885 Lincoln homes, condos and townhomes we can price confidently clear a DSCR of 1.25. Nine in ten of them are priced under $422,000.
| Price | 2 bed | 3 bed | 4 bed | 5 bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $150k–$250k | 48%1.23 | 78%1.37 | 88%1.49 | — |
| $250k–$350k | 3%0.96 | 26%1.12 | 69%1.32 | — |
| $350k–$500k | 0%0.65 | 0%0.93 | 25%1.14 | 29%1.14 |
| $500k+ | — | 0%0.57 | 0%0.76 | 2%0.82 |
Darker means a larger share of that group cash-flows. “—” means fewer than 8 active listings — too few to draw a conclusion from.
Lincoln in full
| Active for-sale homes analyzed | 1,049 |
|---|---|
| Median list price | $389,900 |
| Median projected STR revenue (annual, gross) | $39,311 |
| Median average daily rate (ADR) | $198 |
| Median occupancy | 55% |
| Median beds | 4 |
| Median size | 2,251 sqft |
| Estimated cash-flow-positive share | 55.5% |
| Median days on market | 32 days |
| New listings (last 30 days) | 46.7% of active |
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Estimates for educational purposes. Final terms subject to credit, property & program approval.
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