About the Oklahoma Real Estate Market
 

Recent Forbes Magazine Article: 

Real Estate
America's Recession-Proof Cities
Joshua Zumbrun 04.29.08, 8:20 PM ET 

Nationally, home prices are falling, unemployment is on the rise and the economy is expected to grow slowly--or even contract--in the first half of the year. 

But some cities are doing just fine. 

Take Oklahoma City, Okla. With falling unemployment, one of the country's strongest housing markets, and solid growth in agriculture, energy and manufacturing, it looks best positioned among the nation's largest metropolitan areas to ride out the current crisis. 

MORE:  

1. Oklahoma City, Okla.
Median home price: +8.2% 

Unemployment: 3.5% (from 4.7% in February 2007) 

Key growth: Leisure and hospitality, +6%; construction +11.5% from 2007  

Did someone say something about a recession? With falling unemployment, one of the strongest housing markets in the country, and strong growth in agriculture, energy and manufacturing, Oklahoma City might not have received the recession memo, and it looks best positioned of the nation's metropolitan areas to ride out the current crisis. Booming valuations of Oklahoma City's largest companies, like Devon Energy and Chesapeake Energy, suggest the energy sector is the right place to be. 

See the article (copy & paste into your browser) at:
http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/29/cities-recession-places-forbeslife-cx_jz_0429realestate.html  

Sun February 17, 2008
State not following recession's path 

(Source: www.NewsOK.com )
By Don Mecoy
Business Writer 

WHAT IF the national economy threw a recession, but Oklahoma decided not to attend? "We're not going to play along with the nation,” said Keith Geary, president of Capital West Securities in Oklahoma City. "For us here everything is going really well.”Two sectors that are slowing the national economy — housing and energy — are positives for the local economy. The average sales price of an existing home in Oklahoma rose last year by 4.24 percent while the number of foreclosures filed in the state declined nearly 13 percent. Meanwhile, about 39 percent of homes bought nationally last year are worth less than what the homeowners still owe, according to zillow.com. While local consumers are no happier with near-record gasoline prices than those who live elsewhere, Oklahomans pay among the lowest prices for fuel. And those high prices have fueled expansion in Oklahoma's robust energy sector, which produces jobs, higher wages and taxes for the state.  

Economic forecast sunny with job growth
Mark C. Snead, director for the Center for Applied Economic Research at Oklahoma State University, forecast this month that the state's job growth could continue even through a national recession. His prediction was that a recession would, at worst, stall Oklahoma job growth only during the second and third quarters. "The insulation provided by a stable housing sector and high energy prices are expected to allow the state to enjoy very modest economic growth,” Snead wrote.  

Will history repeat itself?
However, Robert Dauffenbach, associate dean for research at the University of Oklahoma's Michael F. Price College of Business, said Oklahoma's economy tends to follow the nation's in good times and bad. "My own research indicates that Oklahoma is fairly reliably impacted by national recessions,” Dauffenbach said. "The only period where we haven't had fairly close correspondence between what happens in Oklahoma and what happens nationally was in the late 1970s through about 1986 where we had the energy boom and bust. We did a whole lot better then a whole lot worse than the nation.” While soaring energy prices provide "insulation” from some national economic woes, Dauffenbach said, the state is not immune to economic cycles. "I generally don't buy the argument that swings in the national economy don't affect the state,” he said. "There are reasons to suspect that whatever recessionary dislocations occur will impact Oklahoma less than others.” On the positive side, Dauffenbach also isn't convinced that a national recession is inevitable. "I don't think we're in a recession yet. That doesn't mean one's not coming,” Dauffenbach said. "I'm seeing a lot of weakness, but I'm not seeing the dramatic drop-off that tends to result in recession.” The Fed's recent interest rate cuts were prompted more by investors than economic data, Dauffenbach believes. "Crying recession is one way in which Wall Street gets attention,” he said.  

Regional differences
Sue Lynn Sasser, economics professor at the University of Oklahoma, said there often are marked differences in regional economic conditions across the nation. Sasser recalled that the Federal Reserve offered a lower discount rate in the Southwest during the 1980s when banks were closing at record rates. Some of that division showed up at an October meeting of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee. When the panel voted to lower its target rate by a quarter-point in October, the only dissenting vote came from Thomas Hoenig, who represents the heartland area including Oklahoma. "Recessions look at national averages,” Sasser said. "There can be pockets of the country that are still doing well.”  

Jobs are available
For some local business people, this pocket is doing quite well. Paycom Chief Executive Officer Chad Richison said his Oklahoma City payroll company has been expanding so quickly that it has eased its previous requirements for a four-year college degree to increase the pool of potential employees. "If you're looking for a job, we're hiring. Dell laid off 200, and we're looking for those people,” Richison said. "Mortgage companies that had offices here (laid off workers). There have been other layoffs, and I'm paying people to go locate these people who were let go.” For Capital West's Geary, local optimism should outweigh national pessimism. "I think it's proper and appropriate to focus on Oklahoma,” he said. "We're doing better." 

It's a good thing you're in OKLAHOMA! 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

NORTH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA HOME VALUES INCREASE
BY .87 PERCENT IN 2007 

OAR’s “Good Thing You’re in Oklahoma” Campaign
To Present the Facts About the Oklahoma and Local Real Estate Markets 

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, March 7, 2008 -- Home values in North Central Oklahoma increased in 2007 by nearly one percent, according to a report released today by the North Central Oklahoma Board of REALTORS®. The report, based on local and statewide polling sponsored by the Oklahoma Association of REALTORS® (OAR) contradicts national media coverage on a national
residential housing downturn. 

The report is part of OAR’s “Good Thing You’re in Oklahoma” campaign, a research-based effort to inform home buyers and sellers about the facts in Oklahoma’s housing market. 

North Central Oklahoma residential real estate bucked the national trend in home values in ’07.
The average sales price for an existing home in North Central Oklahoma rose by .87 percent last year, from $94,607 in 2006 to $95,430 in 2007. Statewide, the average sale price for an existing home in Oklahoma increased by 4.24 percent in 2007, from $143,669 in 2006 to $149,758 in 2007. 

“While the real estate industry in some parts of the country is facing some serious challenges,
today’s report underscores the fact that home ownership throughout Oklahoma continues to be an
affordable, stable and secure investment,” said Tammy McCullar, OAR president. “Our ‘Good Thing
You’re in Oklahoma’ campaign is designed to present the facts about the Oklahoma housing market, which remains a source of value as a long-term investment.” Since 2002, the average sales price of an existing home in North Central Oklahoma has risen by an average of 2.21 percent per year. The average sales price for an existing home in North Central Oklahoma in 2007 reflects almost a 11.53 percent increase from the 2002 average sales price for an existing home of $85,563. 

“The housing market in our part of the state is trending in a positive direction and not reflecting what's happening on a national level. That's why we believe it’s important that North Central Oklahoma residents know the facts about our community,” said Steven Hermann, 2008 president of the North Central Oklahoma Board of REALTORS® – one of the 25 OAR local boards in the state. “The most important fact emerging from our research is that home values remain a bargain, compared to almost any housing market in the nation, and a great investment in terms of the increasing value of our residential property.” 

Home sales were down slightly in 2007 based on a year-by-year comparison. The North Central
Oklahoma Board of REALTORS® reported sales of 482 existing homes in the North Central Oklahoma
MLS (multiple listing service) area in 2007. However, the average annual sales total of existing homes in North Central Oklahoma over the three-year period of 2005–2007 is 18.21 percent higher than the average sales total in the previous three-year “window,” 2002–2004. An average of 461 homes sold per year from 2005-2007, compared to 390 homes sold per year between 2002 and 2004. 

The 2007 increase in home values in the North Central Oklahoma area and across Oklahoma is
in sharp contrast to the national home real estate picture. The National Association of REALTORS® recently reported that the national median existing home price for all housing types decreased by 1.4 percent in 2007, from $221,900 in 2006 to $218,900 last year. 

McCullar says homeowners in our state should be confident about the value of their homes, given
that 2007 marked the seventh year in a row in which Oklahoma home values have appreciated. The
Association’s consumer Web site, WhyRealtorsWork.com, will be a source of information regarding the benefits and value of home ownership throughout the “Good Thing You’re in Oklahoma” campaign. 

“Comparing our local board and statewide reports to the national picture is a great reminder that
real estate is local,” said McCullar. “It’s also a reinforcement of OAR’s belief that Oklahoma is one of the most affordable states to live and work in and that our outlook for the coming year should be as positive as ever.” 

The Oklahoma Association of REALTORS® is a professional trade association that represents
nearly 11,000 of Oklahoma’s real estate professionals involved in all aspects of the real estate industry. 

The term REALTOR® is a registered trademark, which identifies real estate professionals who subscribe and adhere to a strict code of ethics as members of the National Association of REALTORS®. These REALTORS® are also members of OAR as well as their local board or association of REALTORS®, including the more than 70 real estate professionals who are members of the North Central Oklahoma Board of REALTORS®. 

Source:
Beth Payne, Director of Communications