Google Making A Big Impact On Mayes County Realty

A new land rush grips a Mayes County town. Google's coming to Pryor and catching the attention of land developers. Realtors say the market is the busiest they've ever seen, and News On 6 anchor

Wednesday, May 16th 2007, 8:46 pm

By: News On 6

A new land rush grips a Mayes County town. Google's coming to Pryor and catching the attention of land developers. Realtors say the market is the busiest they've ever seen, and News On 6 anchor Omar Villafranca reports Google hasn't even set up shop.

Last month Internet giant Google unveiled plans to build a data center in Pryor. Since the announcement, Lee Weems, a Pryor realtor, has been busy.

"We had Gatorade, but as soon as Google came in behind them, it went nuts," said Weems.

Weems and other realtors now spend hours on the phone with investors and buyers looking to buy land. When he's not hammering out deals, he's showing off properties to potential buyers.

"Work, work, work, run, run, run, they're not enough hours in the day. We got a saying in the office now. I guess I'll do it between midnight and 6,â€ said Weems.

He says land that wasn't selling before now looks like prime real estate to investors.

"I listed a house for $73,500 on a Friday. On Monday I had a contract for $71,500, that fast,â€ Weems said.

A few months ago, Weems says realtors were selling individual lots. Now, they're selling whole subdivisions. Sanders Mitchell, a key figure in getting Google to log-in to Pryor, remains cautious on the new land rush in Pryor.

"That is speculation on land, and everything that starts over again,â€ said Mitchell. â€œThat's typical. I hope people don't get too excited and go off the deep end, but if they do, they do."

Mitchell expects Pryor to spread out in the next few years, as long as the city can provide utilities and services for businesses and residents.

As for Weems, he's thankful people are going ga-ga for Google.

"Thank you. Thank you. Come to Pryor!" he said.

Weems says several of the listing are just outside of the Pryor city limit, but he hopes the city will annex the property. As for the types of houses that will be built? Weems says they'll range from cookie-cutter, inexpensive homes to larger, custom-built homes.

Watch the video:

Mayes County Realtors See Big Boost After Google Announcement