Oklahoma #1, Tulsa 10th

It is football season, but these rankings are for gains in housing values, not football. According to the Office of Federal Housing’s Enterprise Oversight Home Price Index, the State of Oklahoma led the nation in home appreciation for the period ending June 30, 2008.
Home prices in Oklahoma rose 4.9% in the second quarter compared with the second quarter of 2007. Nationally, values fell 1.7% during the same period.
Oklahoma’s home prices increased primarily because of the two strong markets in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. In fact, Tulsa ranked 10th in the U.S. among metro areas, with an increase of 4.87%. Oklahoma City ranked 17th, with an increase of 4.68%.
“Oklahoma is very fortunate. This is the eighth straight year we are seeing steady increases in home appreciation,” said Sam Rader, chairman of the board of Tulsa-based Coldwell Banker Select. “We have continued to see slight but steady growth during these uncertain times for other markets.”

For more information contact me at slaunchbaugh@cbtulsa.com

Home Sellers Tip

Wash your windows and screens to allow more natural light into the interior of your home.

For more information contact me at slaunchbaugh@cbtulsa.com

A GOOD INVESTMENT!

Are you frustrated by the performance of the stock market? Why not consider real estate for your investment dollars? As an investment, real estate offers several advantages. While it does not increase in value every year, it performs very well over time and tends not to have wild fluctuation like the stock market. Real estate does have considerable tax advantages including the depreciation tax deduction. Also, rental property typically has a more stable income potential than other types of investments. Finally, if you do not want to deal with renters, property management is available through RaderGroup Property Management. For more information contact me at slaunchbaugh@cbtulsa.com

Some Good News!

As real estate professionals working in our local real estate market, one of the biggest challenges we face is overcoming the constant “doom and gloom” news reports being disseminated almost every day. Reporters seem to revel in listing every negative statistic they can find while ignoring any good news, especially when it comes to our economy and the housing industry. Certainly, there are some serious economic issues, especially on the national level, but there are also some positive facts which should be presented.
For example, a recent monthly report on foreclosure rates showed Oklahoma had a 47.3% increase in foreclosures in July when compared to the previous month. What was not emphasized in the report was the fact that Oklahoma’s foreclosure rate (1 per every 930 households) is still almost half of the national average (1/484). Furthermore, that 1 of every 930 homes is only 1/10 of one percent of all the homes owned by Oklahomans.
As for Coldwell Banker Select Realtors, July was an excellent month for home sales. Our closed number of sales was up 4.6% over July 2007. More significantly, the company’s written business in July was up 22.3% in units and 33.2% in volume over the same month a year ago. Furthermore, August written and closed business are both starting out ahead of the August 2007 pace.
If you would like to sell and/or buy a home, but think the market is really bad, get the real facts on our local real estate market. Contact Sarah at slaunchbaugh@cbtulsa.com. I will get you the actual statistics for our housing market. You will see a different perspective than you get from news reports. Then you can make your decision based on the reality of our real estate market rather than the slanted perspective of the media.

Happy Labor Day!

I hope that you and your family enjoy the long holiday weekend! If there is anything I can do to assist you with your real estate needs please contact me at slaunchbaugh@cbtulsa.com