Tulsa market February 2008

December Home Sales
GTAR Reports Area Home Sales Following
Three-Year Seasonal Trends
TULSA, OK (January 31, 2008) – The Greater Tulsa Association of REALTORS® (GTAR) reports that area home sales over the past three years have followed seasonal trends. "Home sales tend to follow patterns year after year," said Doug Horton, Northeastern Oklahoma Real Estate Services (NORES) president. "As a result, the most accurate comparison is to look back at the same month in a different year for an idea of how the market will look at any given time as opposed to referencing the previous month." Over the past three years, the months of April and May have statistically had the highest number of contracts written (see graph). Homes listed in the Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in December 2007 averaged 62 days on the market until a contract was signed. According to Horton, Tulsa area home sales for 2008 will continue to reflect the previous years’ trend despite a national housing slump. "The most recent rate cut by the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates back to near all-time lows," Horton said. "The 30-year conventional fixed mortgage rate was around 5.625 percent, which means now is a great time to list and sell your home." Prospective buyers are now able to search for homes on GTAR’s newly redesigned Web site, http://www.tulsarealtors.com/, which provides a listing of all homes available in the Tulsa Multiple ListingSystem (MLS).In addition to the home search option, the GTAR Web site also offers a feature to search for upcoming open houses. Information on the site includes the property’s address, school district,price, square footage, year built, property photos, virtual tours, and the ability to use Google Maps to locatethe property. Satellite imagery also is provided where available. Below is the press release for GTAR’s December home sales, which was sent to the media. We are including it in the newsletter to help our members be informed about what is happening in our local real estate market.