OK, this post is for all the naysayers and doomsdayers out there. Come on in and make yourself comfortable, because you're about to be served a nice big dose of reality in realty.
Each and every month, I post up the Oklahoma City and Edmond Real Estate statistics, and every month so far I've had some very positive information to share. Yet every week I come across some "professional," whether it be a reporter, another agent, a "real estate investor," or just the average Joe, who tells me the real estate market in Oklahoma City is dead, the sky is falling, and the end of the world is coming. They even go as far as to ask me where I'm going to get "a real job" to make ends meet. Most times, these conversations just amuse me, because it's usually simply another example of someone repeating what they've heard as fact, rather than actually doing due diligence and researching for themselves to distinguish truth and myth.
Well, this month is no different. I've heard agents complaining about how dead the market is (this is a whole separate post topic for later), I've been told I'm going to have to find a real job in 2008, and I've seen buyers & sellers scared out of the market. And, as usual, in the world of Edmond and OKC real estate, I have some very positive indicators to share with you. These are not just a little but positive, but instead, they're extremely different from what you may be hearing elsewhere. Are you sitting down? Are you strapped in? These numbers may come as a real shock to many.
The following chart shows the monthly Oklahoma City Metropolitan Real Estate statistics for November 2007 as compared to October 2007 and November 2006:
| - | Nov-07 | Oct-07 | Nov-06 | 1-month change | 1-year change |
| TOTAL CLOSED | 1347 | 1516 | 1333 | -12.55% | 1.04% |
| TOTAL $ VOLUME | $197,106,320 | $238,268,684 | $192,007,080 | -20.88% | 2.59% |
| AVERAGE PRICE | $146,329 | $157,169 | $144,041 | -7.41% | 1.56% |
| MEDIAN PRICE | $123,000 | $129,900 | $120,000 | -5.61% | 2.44% |
| AVGERAGE INTEREST RATE | 6.06% | 6.05% | 6.16% | 0.17% | -1.65% |
| %SELLING PRICE TO LIST PRICE | 97% | 98% | 97% | -1.03% | 0.00% |
| DAYS ON MARKET | 77 | 79 | 73 | -2.60% | 5.19% |
| NUMBER OF LISTINGS | 9022 | 9504 | 8791 | -5.34% | 2.56% |
| ABSORPTION RATE | 6.70 | 6.27 | 6.59 | 6.40% | 1.54% |
Good stuff, right? As you can see, November was down compared to October. Well, that's normal. It's that time of year when everyone's focused on the Holidays and their focus is taken off of real estate. No big shocker there. Now look at the numbers comparing November 2007 to the same month in 2006. Every single pricing, volume and interest rate category shows a positive change. EVERY ONE! Sure, the 
average days on market has gone up a whopping 4 days, and the absorption rate has crept up by 11/100ths. Not enough there to worry about.
Nobody can deny that seeing an increase in total sales, total volume, average and median sales prices and a lower average interest rate is vastly different from what the general public probably believes to be true these days. Even our local media isn't reporting these kinds of things, for the most part. There have been a few rare exceptions, but if you watch the news, you can easily walk away with the feeling that the real estate market in Central Oklahoma is falling apart.
Well, I'm glad to be the one showing you the light again. Hold on tight; as soon as the Holidays are out of the way, the buyers will be back out, ready to buy, and the sellers who have an agent who understands what's really going on will be in position to take advantage of this "down market."
If you have any questions about Homes for Sale in Edmond, OK
please don't hesitate to contact us for a free, no obligation analysis of the current market. In the meantime, you'll find a wealth of information at our Edmond Real Estate website.
**Based on information provided to and compiled by MLSGateway.com, Inc. covering a period (11/01/06) through (11/30/07). MLSGateway.com, Inc. does not guarantee or is in any way responsible for its accuracy
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