Real Estate Market In Oklahoma Shows Signs Of Slowing

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ For the first time in more than five years, the housing market in central Oklahoma appears to be slowing. <br/><br/>Oklahoma City, Edmond, Midwest City, Moore and Norman issued 3,621

Saturday, August 19th 2006, 2:06 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ For the first time in more than five years, the housing market in central Oklahoma appears to be slowing.

Oklahoma City, Edmond, Midwest City, Moore and Norman issued 3,621 single-family building permits through July, down 3.2 percent compared with the first seven months of last year, according to a monthly survey by The Oklahoman.

Permits were off 3 percent in Oklahoma City, which issued 2,195. Moore, where several hot housing additions are filling up, saw a 28 percent drop, with 361 permits issued compared with 500 through July 2005.

Edmond was almost flat, with 389 permits issued through July, one more than during the same period last year, but only 27 were issued in July. It was the smallest monthly tally since December 2000.

Edmond houses priced from $500,000 to $750,000 are selling slower, and the city has a growing number of houses on the market priced from $200,000 to $300,000, said Edmond builder Caleb McCaleb, vice president-secretary of the Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association.

Norman had some of the rosiest numbers in July. The city issued 497 building permits, 12 percent more than a year ago.

Norman construction is where Moore's was a year ago. Norman has several new additions with houses going up, said Steve Shoemaker, marketing director for Ideal Homes, which builds across the metro areas but is based in Norman.

Add increasing enrollment at the University of Oklahoma ``and you have a recipe for a robust entry-level and first-time, move-up housing market,'' Shoemaker said.

It cost consumers 15 percent more to borrow money for a house last month than last summer, according to the Oklahoma City Metro Association of Realtors. The average rate paid for a 30-year mortgage here was 6.49 percent, compared with 5.65 percent in July 2005, the Realtors said.