Is Tulsa's Real Estate Bubble Deflating?

Worry for some Oklahoma homeowners. The National Association of Realtors announced home sales were down almost 10 percent in June. The number of homes still for sale soared to its highest level since

Wednesday, July 26th 2006, 10:19 am

By: News On 6

Worry for some Oklahoma homeowners. The National Association of Realtors announced home sales were down almost 10 percent in June. The number of homes still for sale soared to its highest level since 1997.

News on 6 reporter Jennifer Loren finds out if the real estate bubble is deflating here in Tulsa too. The housing bubble. For the last 5 years, home prices and sales have skyrocketed nationwide. And for the last 5 years, homebuyers have been waiting for the bubble to burst.

According to new numbers released by the National Association of Realtors, that point could be near. June sales of existing homes nationwide dropped 1.3 percent from May of this year and dropped almost 9 percent compared to June of last year.

Meanwhile, the number of homes still for sale in June skyrocketed to the highest point since 1997. That could make sellers lower their prices.

Ron Sumner with the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors: "Oklahoma hasn't really had a bubble." But according to Tulsa realtors, those numbers don't apply to us. Ron Sumner: "But the reality of it is home sales here in Tulsa have increased in terms of numbers and prices have increased slightly."

June home sales were up in Tulsa, by 6 percent from this May and up by 9.4 percent compared to June of last year. But at the same time, there are a lot more homes staying on the market right now. There were about 200 more homes still for sale compared to last June.

But realtors say so what. The rate of homes sold is increasing at a faster pace than they're going on the market. Ron Sumner: "So we're seeing a gradually improving market because our supply is getting eaten up faster than its coming on the market."

Mike Goodman, a real estate investor, makes a living off the Tulsa housing market. "We haven't experienced a slow down. We've been busier this year than ever before." He agrees there's never been a bubble here.

In fact, he says business never exploded, but just slowly keeps getting better. "And here we are five years later and running full boar."

The average selling price for a Tulsa home is $144,000 so far this year. That's up 6 percent from this time last year.