Today was an amazing day! Repeatedly throughout the day I just closed my eyes and basked in the warm breezes of Oklahoma. I am entering my third year in OKC and I still can't quite get over my love of the Oklahoma seasons. I think OKC is one of the best kept secrets in the entire USA. 4 distinct seasons but mild and short winters and only a few intolerable weeks of summer humidity, The remaining 44 weeks of the year are paradise.
There is so much to do and to see in OKC. On Saturday we took our 2 year old grandson to the big Easter Egg hunt on Council. From the press releases it was my understanding that they expected over 5000 people and there were over 100,000 (yes one hundred thousand) eggs prepared for the OKC children to find. We had so much fun encouraging our little one to fill his basket!
Later that evening, after my daughter and the foreign exchange student we are hosting, Kristina, spent some time at Penn Square Mall, we headed off to Bricktown. We rode a 3-D dungeon ride, helped Kristina pick out some postcards to bring back to Germany, and then took the canal water taxi tour. This tour was great and I learned quite a bit about our city. We ended the night with dinner at Earl's where we enjoyed true Oklahoma barbeque.
This morning off to church followed by brunch at my eldest daughter's home. We were delighted to watch our grandson search for more eggs and his Easter basket. Everyone played yard games and I thought how fortunate we were to live in such a beautiful city. I have spent many Easters traveling through blizzards to get to church in Northern Wisconsin. I can recall only a few warm Easters in 20+ years of living in Wisconsin. OKC is truly an urban paradise. No wonder our real estate market is so vibrant!
Showing posts with label Search for Oklahoma City Properties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Search for Oklahoma City Properties. Show all posts
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
How's the Market?
Oklahoma City continues to hold off the housing decline with an increase in sales over last month and over last year (2009). Volume was up with the median price up several thousands of dollars over last February 2009. Inventory is down and the average days on market decreased significantly from 94 days to 85, less than three months. For the lay person reading the blog a shrinking inventory (less homes for sale) leads to an increase in home values. It is a simple economic law of supply and demand.
What makes OKC so different than the rest of the nation? The low unemployment rate has a significant impact. Jobs do equal homes. MAPS 3 also has assisted in keeping the OKC market strong as OKC continues to draw commercial development due to its progressive governmental leadership and favorable business tax climate. The final key is the strength of OKCMAR REALTORS and the OKCMAR & MLSOK strategic plan.
Recently the OKCMAR annual survey was analyzed for all its write-in comments. One comment in particular is relevant to this post. (Paraphrased) "Since the commercials and the billboards do not market me specifically they have no value. I would rather have lower MLS fees". The MLSOK used its 2008 tax refund to extend the billboards for one more year. The boards promote the value of using an OKCMAR REALTOR in the real estate transaction and encourage the public to search the public-sided MLS site, www.centraloklahomaproperties.com.
Once the public is on the site the listings have a lead generation feature getting the lead back to the preferred associate or the listing associate. The listings are all syndicated through listhub which when the interested party clicks more information an email is sent to the listing associate to contact the customer. However, even more important is the inherent statement that the OKC REALTORS are confident in the market and that the public can be too.
All the tools in the MLS make transactions easier and faster and put information that promotes the stability of the OKC housing market and the value of the REALTOR through the depth of data available. Your MLS isn't just responding to the market rather the strategic initiatives are protecting the OKC market. The MLS leadership has positioned OKC REALTORS and the OKC housing market to withstand the national housing crisis. The Boards of Directors of both corporations, MLSOK & OKCMAR should be applauded for their far-reaching response to the storm they saw on the horizon.
What makes OKC so different than the rest of the nation? The low unemployment rate has a significant impact. Jobs do equal homes. MAPS 3 also has assisted in keeping the OKC market strong as OKC continues to draw commercial development due to its progressive governmental leadership and favorable business tax climate. The final key is the strength of OKCMAR REALTORS and the OKCMAR & MLSOK strategic plan.
Recently the OKCMAR annual survey was analyzed for all its write-in comments. One comment in particular is relevant to this post. (Paraphrased) "Since the commercials and the billboards do not market me specifically they have no value. I would rather have lower MLS fees". The MLSOK used its 2008 tax refund to extend the billboards for one more year. The boards promote the value of using an OKCMAR REALTOR in the real estate transaction and encourage the public to search the public-sided MLS site, www.centraloklahomaproperties.com.
Once the public is on the site the listings have a lead generation feature getting the lead back to the preferred associate or the listing associate. The listings are all syndicated through listhub which when the interested party clicks more information an email is sent to the listing associate to contact the customer. However, even more important is the inherent statement that the OKC REALTORS are confident in the market and that the public can be too.
All the tools in the MLS make transactions easier and faster and put information that promotes the stability of the OKC housing market and the value of the REALTOR through the depth of data available. Your MLS isn't just responding to the market rather the strategic initiatives are protecting the OKC market. The MLS leadership has positioned OKC REALTORS and the OKC housing market to withstand the national housing crisis. The Boards of Directors of both corporations, MLSOK & OKCMAR should be applauded for their far-reaching response to the storm they saw on the horizon.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Jealous?
A comment was recently posted, I assume in rebuttal to my exclamations about OKC, expounding on the benefits of living and doing business in Louisville, Kentucky. I am sure Louisville is very nice but again I don't think OKC can be beat.
I find this resurgence of the second & third tier cities to be quite interesting and I think it is a trend to be looked at. These "lower level" cities have a unique opportunity to create cities that make sense whereas first tier cities tend to have sprawl that was established by market trends rather than with a purposeful plan.
OKC has benefited from the leadership of its past mayors who have had a vision for planned growth. OKC still has many undeveloped and underdeveloped tracts of land. There is a phenomenal opportunity to grow our city with a quality of life aspect and with deference to ecological concerns. We can and hopefully will build an environmentally friendly and sustainable city.
OKCMAR has launched its first Green Resource Council, a movement initiated and supported by the National Association of REALTORS. This group will eventually have a positive influence on our city planning and also within OKCMAR itself. If you are interested in working with the Resource Council please contact the OKCMAR membership department and your contact info will be forwarded to the council.
I find this resurgence of the second & third tier cities to be quite interesting and I think it is a trend to be looked at. These "lower level" cities have a unique opportunity to create cities that make sense whereas first tier cities tend to have sprawl that was established by market trends rather than with a purposeful plan.
OKC has benefited from the leadership of its past mayors who have had a vision for planned growth. OKC still has many undeveloped and underdeveloped tracts of land. There is a phenomenal opportunity to grow our city with a quality of life aspect and with deference to ecological concerns. We can and hopefully will build an environmentally friendly and sustainable city.
OKCMAR has launched its first Green Resource Council, a movement initiated and supported by the National Association of REALTORS. This group will eventually have a positive influence on our city planning and also within OKCMAR itself. If you are interested in working with the Resource Council please contact the OKCMAR membership department and your contact info will be forwarded to the council.
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