There’s been a lot of talk lately as to why we’re weathering this economic downturn so well in Central Oklahoma… so much that it’s tough for me to keep up these days.

Earlier this week, Forbes.com ranked the Oklahoma City metro #12 on their list of The Best Places for Business and Careers, and just a couple of days later BusinessWeek ranked Edmond as one of the best ‘small cities’ for startup businesses in an article which specifically mentioned how attractive the incentives of doing business in Edmond are:

In Edmond, Okla., Charles Seeney has tapped half a million in economic development grants for his five-employee nanomedicine company, BioNanoMimetics. “When you start a small business, economy is key to everything you do—getting the most bang for your dollar,” he says. The incentives, combined with the low cost of doing business there, made the city of 83,000 attractive.

The props our area is receiving just keep piling up, adding up to a nice little resume for Edmond and OKC!

If you’re a homeowner in the SW section of Edmond, you’ve probably already heard all the fuss, but if not, you need to pay attention now!

The Lexington neighborhood, located on NW 164th, between Western and Santa Fe is organizing as many home owners as possible to help in a fight against the development of a 3-story apartment complex which will house 240 units.

WATCH THIS VIDEO

This development could affect the values of several nearby neighborhoods, and even some that are not immediately connected to the projected site.  If you live in any of these or any nearby neighborhoods

• Lexington
• Fairfield
• Fairfield South
• The Valley
• Fairview Farms
• Trails South
• Fenwick
• Durbin Park
• Sonoma Lake

…this is an issue you need to investigate and decide if you’re for or against.

There will be a meeting this Friday, April 3rd @ 7pm at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (308 NW 164th) to help organize this fight.  Please get involved if you feel your community would be better without this development.

How Oklahoma has fared so well in an economic downturn is a mystery to many, but the clues are out there if you just look.

I recently posted about the Oklahoma City Real Estate Bubble, and a list I found today just validates much of what I said in that post.

The list I’m referring to is Fortune Magazine’s Top 100 Best Places To Work List, which shows that five Oklahoma companies have grabbed 6 of the Top 100 spots; they are American Fidelity Assurance, Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy, QuikTrip, and Stanley.

Yes, the energy sector is a big part of our success, but as this list shows, we’re more diversified that many may realize.

This is BIG! In today’s changing world, this is HUGE! Like so many others who’ve bought into the wrong ways to live, I need help, and I’m looking for ways to break free from debt and get ahead of the recession.

If you’re in the same boat, I encourage you to take advantage of Dave Ramsey’s upcoming ‘Town Hall of Hope.’  He’ll be LIVE @ Lifechurch.tv in Oklahoma City/Edmond on April 23rd @ 7pm, so mark your calendars now, and SHARE THIS (see the ‘share this’ icon at the bottom of this post) with everyone you care about, because the reality is that probably 90% of the people you know need this just as much as you and I do!

I’m a stats-junky, and I know I have more than a few like-minded folks who frequently scan these pages.

In my opinion, one of the most important things a Realtor can do is stay knowledgeable about the market he/she works in.  After all, we’re here to guide and advise, and how can anyone possibly do that correctly without having a thorough, detailed, intimate understanding of where we’ve been and where we are now?

Maybe even more importantly, that knowledge is critical in identifying where our market might be heading.

With that in mind, I’ve always been open with our market statistics.  I post them here and several other places around the web for everyone to see, so they can evaluate for themselves what’s REALLY going on, rather than just relying on what they hear around the water-cooler.

Well, now rather than searching for market stats scattered throughout my blog, I’m keeping a running spreadsheet of current and past sales statistics in one convenient spot.  As each month’s stats are available, I’ll update this grid, which will then compare the current month with the previous month, and the same month a year prior.

Bookmark the page, because these stats cover the entire Oklahoma City Metro area, including areas like Edmond, Norman, Piedmont, Choctaw, Newcastle, and more.

This is a topic that usually stirs quite a bit of debate, mostly by local folks who don’t have a grasp on how bad things really are outside of our little bubble.

Yep, I said ‘bubble.’  I know, BAD BUZZ WORD! Over the past few years, this word has taken on a pretty negative persona, but here in central Oklahoma, we’ve experienced a different kind of bubble than the rest of the country.

Our bubble isn’t one that got over-inflated and popped, but rather, it’s a protective bubble of sorts.  Our conservative home prices, along with a modest rate of inflation, guarded by a fairly strong energy industry, have insulated us from the devastation felt in many markets.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Oklahoma City real estate market was ranked 17th in the Top 75 healthiest markets in the US:

At the top of this list, in markets 16 to 30, you’ll find metro areas that have benefited from strength in energy and agriculture, along with markets that didn’t go wild and crazy during the boom

That one quote from the Top 75 list pretty well summarizes the epitome of the Oklahoma City real estate market.

One of the more common complaints I hear lately is ‘Hey, why is the new tax credit only for first-time home buyers?  I should get a piece of the pie too,’ which I can’t disagree with.  I personally would have liked to see the $8,000 tax credit opened up for all homes purchased for personal use this year, but for some reason the powers that be don’t seem to listen much to me 

On the bright side though, there are other tax credits out there for the rest of us.  Did you know there are tax credits being created for home owners who are making the move toward more environmentally-friendly homes?  You can read more about these incentives here.  It appears that going green may save you some green, so don’t give up on your stimulus just yet.

What better day than today, St Patricks Day, to think about the luck you need to get your home sold?

• With a little luck, someone will drive by and see your sign
• With a little luck, they’ll pick up a flier and call to find out more
• With a little luck, they’ll fall in love with your home
• With a little luck, they’ll like your price and pay pretty close to it
• With a little luck, the contract will be written to protect you
• With a little luck, there won’t be any issues uncovered during inspections
• With a little luck, that buyer’s financing will come through as promised
• With a little luck, there won’t be any surprises at closing
• With a whole lot of luck, you’ve made it this far and you’ve handed over the keys to the new home owners

This list may seem silly, and it is, but the truth is that luck is what a lot of home sellers are counting on these days.

They don’t know if they’re priced correctly, if their home shows well, if they hired an agent who REALLY knows how to market beyond the basics and get buyers through the door, or if they’ll ever see an offer.

For those counting on luck, I wish them LOTS of it, but those who understand skilled pricing, marketing, followup, negotiation, contract-writing, organization and problem-solving will walk away with more equity in their pocket.  Happy St Patricks Day!

We’re exactly one month away from the dreaded day… Tax Day!

Are you aware that if you don’t currently own a home, you may qualify for an $8,000 credit on the return you’re about to file for 2008?! What does that mean for you?

• If you owed $1,000 and you qualify for this credit, you could instead receive a $7,000 refund.
• If you have a $2,000 refund owed to you now, and you qualify for this credit, you could increase your refund to $10,000.

Give me a shout if you need more information about how to qualify for this tax credit on your 2008 tax return.

I posted a while back about Edmond’s ranking among Money Magazine’s Top 100 Best Places to Live, but after a friend brought the list to my attention again over the weekend, I took a deeper look at some of the statistical information that went into why Edmond made the list.

I found a few things, in particular, interesting because they’re defiant of so many of the stereotypes that we ‘Okies’ get stuck with:

• While Edmond ranked well above state averages in both reading and math testing, we ranked at an even higher differential in math than the averages of the Top 100 cities, at 17.2% above.
• Edmond has higher-than-average Arts Funding as compared to the other cities ranked in the Top 100.
• Weather-wise, we have considerably more clear days, at 38%, as compared to the 30% average.
• 79.8% of residents have completed at least some level of college, which is higher than the 73.6% average.

Maybe the weather’s not as bad, and we’re not as dumb and unrefined as some might believe.  It’s always fun to buck the stereotypes, because people that have never lived here just don’t get it, but here are a few more of the things within this list that emphasize why living in Central Oklahoma is so great:

• ‘Family Purchasing Power’ (which considers median family income and compares it with cost-of-living) is higher-than-average.
• Our $178,250 median home price is far more manageable than the $293,712 median average of the other cities.
• At $1,881 per year, our average property taxes blow the other cities ($4,072) out of the water.
• In the Quality-of-life category, we excel in Air Quality, Personal Crime Incidents, and Commute Times.

Sounds to me like a great place to call home, which is why I do.  I’m curious what other factors have so many folks falling in love with our best-kept secret?