Local Layoffs Weaken Tulsa, Okla., Home Real Estate Market
Aug 25, 2002 (Tulsa World - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) --
The strategy of some home shoppers now is to wait for bargains.
"For sale" signs are popping up in front of homes across Tulsa quicker than
people are popping up and buying them.
Local layoffs and the jittery economy this summer are behind the trend, real
estate professionals say.
Some people are putting their Tulsa homes on the market to take jobs elsewhere,
while a lot of potential buyers are taking their time and waiting for deals.
Or steals, as Toni Bales says.
The south Tulsa real estate agent for McGraw Davisson Stewart is getting calls
from out-of-state people who've heard the bad news about Williams Cos. Inc.,
Williams Communications Group Inc., American Airlines and WorldCom Inc.
But while these callers are looking to buy low, they aren't finding the bargains
they thought they would, even though Tulsa has a glut of available homes.
Jason Windholz, president of Vision Investment Properties Real Estate Investor
Association in Tulsa, said there's nothing new about people looking for great
deals.
"There have always been investors trying to steal properties," he said.
Windholz noted that one anomaly has occurred since the stock market became so
volatile and interest rates dropped -- membership in his real estate investors
club has jumped.
People are looking at real estate as a secure investment and want to learn about
the process, he said. While some come to one meeting and don't show up again,
but many stick with it and start searching for the right piece of property.
As for homes, this summer there are more for sale and fewer selling than during
each of the four years before. Properties also are sitting on the market longer.
During July in the Tulsa area, there were 5,902 homes on the market, compared
with 5,259 in July 2001 and 4,432 the year before, according to the Greater
Tulsa Association of Realtors.
These numbers account for both resale and new construction but do not include
"for sale by owner" homes.
From June 1 to Aug. 20 this year, 1,195 homes were sold in Tulsa. Last year,
about 125 more homes sold during the same period.
The difference isn't earth-shattering, but it indicates a slowdown.
This is made even more significant when considering that interest rates on
mortgage loans are at a 32-year-low, making home purchases more affordable.
On top of that, the basic rule of supply-and-demand is having an impact on home
prices -- they've fallen about $11,000 since last summer.
What happens to home prices and sales in the next three to four months depends
on how the motions of the market play out with the people involved, Bales said. |
