Tulsa Real Estate Market Seeing Big Growth In Downtown

A downtown Tulsa apartment complex sold for nearly $70 million.

Real estate experts said it's a sign of continued growth downtown and in nearby suburbs. The purchase price is one of the highest one's ever made for a complex in Tulsa. While the growth is good, city experts said there is also a real need right now for affordable housing. 

"We’re having companies look at us who have never looked at us before," said Cindy Morrison. "That means more people coming to live here.”

Cindy Morrison is a Tulsa realtor and said the $68-million purchase of the Cosmopolitan apartments downtown is telling of Tulsa's continued growth. She said since Tulsa reached one million people, more investors started paying attention.

“The investment in Cosmopolitan is huge,” Morrison said.

The Cosmopolitan apartments were opened a couple of years ago and sold to Kushner for more than $250,000 per apartment. Casey Stowe with the Tulsa Authority for Economic Opportunity said it’s the highest he’s seen.

“It’s the largest one I've ever heard of," said Stowe. "We’re excited because strong sales can be equated with a strong market.”

It’s a sign of growth downtown, with new apartments going up constantly.

"While it's exciting to see the higher-end stuff go, we’ve really got to focus on the affordable housing issue in Tulsa," Stowe said.

Morrison said rent prices have gone up because more people are selling their homes and renting for a while, and more people moving here from out of state are renting while looking to buy a home. She said it's finally a buyer's market and expects that to continue.

“We’re having more money, investments, people here," she said.

Kushner has investments all over the country, but this is their first one in Oklahoma.

STATEMENT FROM RILEY WILSON, Acquisitions FOR KUSHNER

“We are thrilled to enter the great state of Oklahoma by acquiring our first asset in Tulsa, which has been a target market for us for quite some time. We wanted to be in this market due to its employment and growth profile which is evident with all the new commercial development that is occurring in the downtown corridor, steps away from our asset.”