Right now, there’s plenty of fear out there; more than enough to go around. With the seemingly consistent flow of scary financial news, and the recent downfall of one of our larger local builders, it’s understandable that the perception may be that the local real estate market is taking a major nose-dive, but we have to keep things in perspective. The sky is not falling, and you still have to live somewhere, right?

In this business, smart business practice – which includes fiscal conservatism – is what separates the men from the boys, especially in a soft market. It just so happens that the builders we work closely with are a few of those who’ve positioned themselves to ride out the storm. Jeff Click Homes is one; and another of these builders was just highlighted in the Oklahoman.

Over the past few years, while the Edmond real estate market has been so strong, many home buyers have asked “Why do I need a REALTOR® when I’m buying a new home? Can’t I just go directly to the builder?” As you’d probably guess, I always advise against this, for several reasons, but in today’s softer market, with several builders teetering on the edge, it’s more important than ever to get some guidance from someone who’s plugged in and has a grasp on how to help you make sure your next move is a smart one.

An additional way to stay in tune with the OKC and Edmond market is by subscribing to this blog. We’ll keep you up-to-date on market statistics, trends and news.

I question how much of this particular trend will flow into the Oklahoma City real estate market, but with last week’s fall of a few of Edmond’s larger home builders, we’re definitely seeing a more conservative approach on both the building and buying sides. I guess the key here comes from the money quote in an article about shrinking homes:

“We’re getting back to more the way things were historically, kind of undoing the excesses…”

To many, it’s amazing that local builders would have the nerve to raise their prices when the market seems so questionable. However, at second glance, it’s not hard to see why.

News 5 recently did a nice piece explaining that new home builders in and around Edmond are affected by rising oil prices just as much as you and I are.

I’ve been meaning to post about this for several days, and I only wish I’d done it sooner. If you read here much, you know that I’m big on putting out the stats that show what’s going on in OUR LOCAL housing market, so that everyone can see the real numbers and determine for themselves if what they’re hearing in the national news matches up with what’s going on in Oklahoma.

The Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association (COHBA) has done a fantastic job lately of getting the word out in their own way, and I plan to share some of their information here, in hopes of helping them in their efforts. Tonight, I’ll simply embed a video that I found both interesting, and informative. Enjoy!