Despite what you think, housing is OK

Mar 25, 2008 (The Oklahoman - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- -- Numbers don't lie, they say, but numbers can confuse, and Oklahomans seem confused by disturbing national housing statistics, a survey suggests.

Despite consistently increasing home values -- from a statewide average sales price of $116,298 in 2002 to $149,758 in 2007 -- about half of Oklahomans surveyed said they thought the state's housing market was in fair or poor shape.

Home sales have slowed. But with property values still firm, the Oklahoma Association of Realtors commissioned Wilson Research Strategies Inc. to find out if the disconnect that Realtors detected between perception and reality could be documented, said Lisa Yates, chief executive of the association.

Yates, association President Tammy McCullar of Eufaula and Marolyn Pryor, president of the Oklahoma City Metro Association of Realtors, will present the survey results to Realtors, city officials and others today at a luncheon at the state association headquarters.

"Half of the people don't say the market is excellent or good. But it is good, and in some parts it's excellent," Yates said. "Extrapolating, half the people in Oklahoma don't have a very positive view of the housing market."

And that, she said, casts an emotional cloud over Oklahoma housing that is at odds with price increases and only a slight drop in sales.

In other words, people are spooked unnecessarily, she said.

On Monday, Oklahoma City was mentioned for its "healthy gains" in home prices in a monthly sales report from the National Association of Realtors. Almost half of the metro areas in the country are still seeing home price increases, the report said.

But in the national news, "We're hearing national numbers" that show house prices falling, Yates said. "That's really a few key states. It's not true in Oklahoma. It's not true in a lot of states. That's why we decided to do this campaign."

She was referring to the $200 million advertising-marketing campaign the Oklahoma Association of Realtors announced Feb. 14 to get the word out: "Good Thing You're in Oklahoma." The point: Home prices rose in Oklahoma last year 4.24 percent -- and 5.8 per year on average the past seven years.

The "steady stream of negative news" from national news sources is drowning out the good news, she said.

"We started to get a lot of comments from our members: 'It's not true in our market.' When we started to look at the statewide numbers, we saw we were really bucking the trend," Yates said. "Lesson learned. This has taught us that real estate really is local."

As Oklahoma housing prices were digging out from the 1980s oil bust -- and especially during the 2003-2005 national housing boom -- the state association could rely on national statistics and reports from local Realtors groups to help explain things, she said.

"We've kind of learned how important it is to talk about Oklahoma numbers," Yates said.

To see more of The Oklahoman, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsok.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Oklahoman Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

Morning Coffee with TradingMarkets -- Free Newsletter

More News:   Market Updates | Stock Alerts | All Trading News | Stock Index