Oklahoma is in good shape when it comes to home values compared to many other national markets. The news is just as good in northwest Oklahoma, according to research done by Oklahoma Association of REALTORS®.

Local real estate professionals are hoping a new statewide publicity campaign will help counter the negative national news regarding homes sales and the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Home values in Enid increased in 2007 by more than 3 percent. Home values in the state increased an average of 4.24 percent. It’s a trend that has been strong in the state since 2002.

That’s the message behind OAR’s “Good Thing You’re in Oklahoma” campaign. The campaign is aimed at countering the negative national news on home sales with current, relevant data about the Oklahoma housing market that will be useful to consumers in the market to buy or sell a home.

Lisa Yates, chief executive officer of OAR, said REALTORS® have good evidence Oklahoma is bucking the national trend when it comes to home sales and values. She gave a presentation to District 1 REALTORS® Friday, and she encouraged the REALTORS® to promote the good news.

“Things are pretty good in this part of the state,” she said. “We are not a part of the (national) crisis.”

Doing the math

The “Good Thing You’re in Oklahoma” campaign was devised after research showed a large number of Oklahomans have a negative view about the real estate market. More than half the Oklahomans surveyed believe the state’s economy is in poor or fair shape, and nearly half believe the housing market is in poor or fair shape. In northwest Oklahoma, 55 percent of those surveyed believe the real estate market is fair or poor.

Kurt Young, president of the local REALTORS® group, said he has heard concerns from clients about whether housing values have dropped in Enid and the surrounding area in the last year.

The numbers for larger towns in northwest Oklahoma show exactly the opposite trend based on 2006-07 Multiple Listing Service (MLS) numbers. In Enid, the average sale price of a home was $104,217, up 3.25 percent in 2007 as compared to 2006.

Stillwater has seen the largest jump in a year, with the average home sale price at $148,278, up nearly 11 percent. In Woodward, the average sale price of a home was $106,398, up 5.98 percent. The Ponca City area saw a slight increase of just under 1 percent with an average home sale price at $95,430.

It’s a trend that has continued area wide for the last six years. In 2002, the average sale price in Enid was $76,122. Enid has seen an average of nearly 6.5 percent increase in the last six years.

Never in the bubble

Yates said Oklahoma has not seen the wide ups and downs in real estate values. She said the national news focuses on trends in major markets that saw unprecedented growth over the last five years. Oklahoma, she said, never was in that bubble, so the state is not experiencing the huge downturn in the housing market.

Instead, the numbers show a slight but steady increase in home values and home sales.

“Slow and steady growth in real estate wins the race,” she said. “Real estate is local and you have to look at what’s happening locally.”

Doing their part

Enid Board of REALTORS® has contributed toward the publicity campaign, which includes yard signs, billboards and window clings. A number of television and newspaper ads also will be promoting the “Good Thing You’re in Oklahoma” campaign.

“We hope to make a difference in people’s opinions about the real estate market,” Yates said.

Meanwhile, locally, Young said Enid still suffers a shortage of homes in the price range of the average sales price. He said there is a demand for homes in the $80,000 to $125,000 price range.

“That is where we still have a strong need,” he said.