Realtors posted exactly as many home sales last month as in June of last year: 2,031, according to the Oklahoma City Metro Association of Realtors.
The housing inventory remained almost flat, with 8,955 homes on the Multiple Listing Service, a 5.4-month supply, according to The Oklahoman's calculations. May ended with 8,838 homes on the MLS, a 5.3-month supply.
The Oklahoman calculates the housing inventory by dividing the number of listings by the average number of homes sold per month over the previous 12 months, which was 1,646 at the end of June.
If June's pace of 2,031 home sales were to sustain, it would take 4.4 months to absorb the end-of-June supply of 8,955 homes.
"I see this market as still being stable and balanced, neither a buyer's or a seller's market. Historically a 90-day average days on market (it was 74 in June) and a 120-day supply is a reasonable market in the Oklahoma City area,” said Victoria Caldwell, president of the Realtors association.
Starting in August, the number of homes on the market should go down, but so should sales, "so the supply should remain somewhat the same,” she said.
Real Estate Editor Richard Mize
Oklahoma City-area home builders are building like it's 1999.
Home construction the first half of this year, judging from the number of single-family permits issued, is on pace with the first half of that year, which was booming with building even before the May 3, 1999, tornado that destroyed and damaged thousands of homes that had to be replaced.
Builders in Oklahoma City, Edmond, Midwest City, Moore and Norman obtained permits to build 2,468 single-family homes through June — a 23.4-percent drop compared with the first half of 2006 — according to the Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association.
Fewer permits were issued by midyear 2000 (1,849), 2001 (1,982) and 2002 (2,273), and more permits were issued by midyear 2003 (2,889), 2004 (2,989) and 2005 (3,162), according to The Oklahoman's records.
Blame part of the slowdown on the rain. With construction of all kinds at a standstill, it's not surprising that permit numbers fell off.
But the construction cycle "supports our continued stance that when you're coming off of a record run, a decline is a logical outcome,” said Jeff Click, vice president and secretary-treasurer of the association. "What happened in the first half of the first decade of the century shouldn't be the measuring stick of the health of our market. One must look at a broader sample of recent market history.
"In doing so, one could easily draw the conclusion that strength in housing still exists here, and it's nice that the national media is finally recognizing us for it.”
Click was referring to Forbes magazine's recent ranking of Oklahoma City as the second best housing market in the country based on average annual gains in home values of 12 percent in the first quarter compared with the first quarter of 2006, and Money magazine's recent inclusion of the city as one of its "11 Bust-Free Markets” — as well as one of the nation's most affordable housing markets.
"What a great opportunity to invest at a time when we have one of the lowest costs of ownership, while at the same time are enjoying some of the strongest gains found anywhere in the country,” Click said.
The Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association is using the national accolades, as well as continued general strength in the metro area economy, to bolster its unusual "Buy Now” campaign, a direct appeal to potential buyers.
"The Oklahoma City metro area is a growing economy,” said Caleb McCaleb, president of the association. "We are continuing to see new industry in our market and the expansion of business in this area, adding more than 10,000 new jobs every year. Our economy is well diversified with the majority of growth in business focusing on smaller firms.”
Turnout has been heavy this week at the 50 new homes on display in the annual Southwest Showcase of Homes, organizers said. The event continues from 1 to 7 p.m. today and Sunday across south Oklahoma City and Moore.
"Sales of new homes (here) have not decreased as much as they have in other parts of the country,” McCaleb said. "Some builders have had too much inventory. However, sales of new homes are doing better in Oklahoma because we provide more value to the new home buyer than the new home buyer can obtain in other parts of the country.”
