Oklahoma borrowers turn to home equity
Despite growth, Oklahoma remains near bottom of list
Published: December 20, 2008
Workers put decking on a home at 1521 NW 125 in the Heritage Oaks housing addition in Oklahoma City. By Steve Gooch
More Oklahomans are tapping their homes for a home-equity line of credit, according to new Census Bureau estimates.
The number of Oklahoma homeowners with a home-equity loan rose by one-third since 2000, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by The Oklahoman.Multimedia
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IN OKLAHOMA
Home values by county
The Census Bureau’s latest American Community Survey is the first detailed look at communities with at least 20,000 people since the 2000 Census. The 2005-2007 survey covered 39 of the state’s 77 counties. Among the findings:
• Rogers County, at $127,100, had the highest median home value in 2007.
• Seminole County had the lowest median home value at an estimated $60,400.
• Cleveland County homeowners had the highest ownership costs in the 2005-2007 survey period. Median monthly ownership costs were $1,159 in Cleveland County.
• Adair County had the lowest median ownership costs at $718 per month. (Ownership costs include mortgage payments, some utilities, taxes, insurance and association fees.)
• Tulsa County had the highest median property taxes per year at $1,221 in 2007.
• McCurtain County had the lowest median property taxes at $278 per year.
• At $54,482, Canadian County had the survey’s highest median household income in 2007.
• McCurtain County had the lowest median household income among the 39 counties surveyed at an estimated $28,916.
• Median monthly rent ranged from $402 in Adair County to $677 in Cleveland County in the survey period. Source: The Oklahoman analysis of Census data
at a glance
Home values across the country
In 2000, Oklahoma had the lowest median home value in the nation at $70,700. In the latest Census survey, taken from 2005 to 2007, Oklahoma’s median home value rose 35 percent to $95,200. That put the state ahead of Arkansas, West Virginia and Mississippi.
Note: Rankings include District of Columbia and Puerto Rico
Source: The Oklahoman analysis of Census data
Slower growth
Home values haven’t grown as rapidly in Oklahoma as they have elsewhere. That means homeowners here haven’t had large gains in values to take out home-equity loans, said Thomas Hay, vice president and loan product manager for Bank of Oklahoma in Tulsa.
"We didn’t see the kind of growth in home-equity portfolios as the East Coast or West Coast or other markets,” Hay said. "Oklahoma follows a very modest and stable real estate appreciation rate. From that, equity is built at a slower rate than other markets.”
Despite that, Bank of Oklahoma’s home-equity lending portfolio has risen a steady 5 percent each year since 2000, he said.
At the county level, homeowners in Cleveland and Canadian counties have been the most aggressive users of home-equity loans, according to the analysis of Census Bureau survey data.
An estimated 9 percent of homeowners in those counties had the loans in the 2005 to 2007 period. That’s up from about 6 percent in 2000.
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