Published: September 22, 2008 02:32 pm            

Local housing market predicted to remain strong

Ada — While much of the country faces declining housing market values and mortgage crises, Realtors within the state say Oklahoma has thus far been largely immune to the ill effects of the housing crunch, and will most likely remain strong regardless of what’s happening nationally.

“Real estate is basically based on local markets,” said Pete Benes of Paradigm Reality. “You can’t look at things for sale in California and find the same prices in Ada in anything. It’s the same with real estate. I think (the Oklahoma market) will continue to increase, even with the economy the way it is now. People still have to have somewhere to live.”

Although area Realtors say the Oklahoma housing market (and particularly Ada’s) is solid, the pace has slowed somewhat. “Our market is leveling off right now,” said Mary Terry of Mary Terry & Associates. “The market has stayed pretty stable, but it’s not really going up or going down right now ... It’s kind of maintaining at the moment, which is different than previous years.”

Norma Rhodes of Premier Real Estate of Ada said the 2008 market is just as strong as those of the previous seven years. “We haven’t seen a slow-down here,” she said. “We hardly see any repos in this area, either. There’s hardly any here that I’m aware of.”

“The market in this area is holding its own, we haven’t seen any decline in prices,” said George Huckeby of Huckeby & Associates Realtors. “We’ve had a little slow-down with school starting back and people being involved in school activities. But with interest rates dropping, again, under 6 percent for a home loan, I expect to finish out the year in good shape.” Huckeby said the local real estate market can’t reasonably be compared to the national market. He attributed much of the success of the local markets to entities such as the Chickasaw Nation, and a diverse industrial base.

Everyone agreed mortgage loans will be a little tougher to come by now and in the future than they were in previous years. But as Benes pointed out, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. “The mortgage industry has corrected itself, which I think overall is a good thing,” he said. “At first you’ll see a lot of the foreclosures. That’s because the mortgage industry was, in my opinion, a little too lax in allowing anybody to get a loan. And now they’ve kind reversed that. Yeah, it’s a little harder, but it will also result in less foreclosures and will help the economy in the long run.”

Those interviewed also agreed real estate is still a great investment. “Interest doesn’t pay much at the bank,” said Rhodes. “Ever since I’ve been in Ada, real estate has had a gradual increase. There aren’t any big jumps up one year and down the next. It’s just been a gradual increase.

“I’ve been here for 30-plus years and it’s been a great investment for me,” said Huckeby.

In February, the Oklahoma Association of Realtors (OAR) launched the “Good Thing You’re in Oklahoma” campaign, a program designed to convey relevant information regarding the housing market within the state to consumers in the market to buy or sell a home. OAR president Tammy McCullar shared Benes’ sentiments about the housing market. “Real estate is local,” she said in a February press release, “and Oklahomans are not buying or selling their homes in a national housing market. Our ‘Good Thing You’re in Oklahoma’ campaign is designed to present the facts about the Oklahoma housing market, which remains an affordable, stable and secure source of value as a long-term investment.”

According to OAR, home values in Oklahoma increased 4.2 percent in 2007, the seventh consecutive year that the average sale price of an existing home in Oklahoma has seen an increase on a year-to-year basis. On average, home values within the state have increased by 4.88 percent per year since 2000. OAR estimated home values have grown almost 40 percent from 2000-2007.

        

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