Oklahoma Realtor report

2008 Home Prices Rise
From Oklahoma Association of REALTORS®
Yesterday at 10:33am
The Oklahoma Association of REALTORS® (OAR) released statewide figures for 2008 home sales and home values today. The OAR statistics show Oklahoma home prices in the state last year increased by .52% percent overall. And while home prices held their ground through the national mortgage crisis and slumping economy, the number of home sales declined 9.4 percent from the previous year near record high. Association officials say the decrease in the number of homes sold is likely attributable to the ‘one-two punch’ of last year’s press coverage of the national housing market followed by the weakening economy which resulted in job losses and reduced consumer spending in most parts of the country. “Oklahoma bucked the national trends on home sales and prices for much of 2008, and it’s no small thing that we saw an increase in home values in the face of a national credit crises and slumping economy,” said Mike Craddock, 2009 president of the Oklahoma Association of REALTORS®. “However, as the national economy continued to falter in the fourth quarter of last year, our markets statewide were impacted as Oklahomans took a ‘wait and see’ approach on home buying. In February of 2008, the OAR launched the ‘Good Thing You’re in Oklahoma’ initiative to educate home buyers and sellers about the affordability, stability and security of the Oklahoma housing market. Many local boards of REALTORS across the state adopted a similar campaign in their home towns. The average cost of a home in Oklahoma increased by a half percent compared to home prices in 2007. In 2008 the average cost of a home sold was $149,482 compared to $148,715 in the 2007. Statewide, 49,269 homes were sold last year. This is 9.5 percent less than the number of homes sold in 2007 in which showed 54,378 homes were sold in the state.“We are encouraged by the fact that Oklahoma’s home values increased despite the national economic downturn,” said Craddock. “It reinforces our belief that buying a home in Oklahoma is still an affordable, stable and secure investment.”