Oklahoma Real Estate
If you have turned on a television or radio in the last year you have to know that the time to buy a house is now. With the market the way it is and the incentives available to home buyers there has never been a better time to invest in Oklahoma Real Estate. In the capital of Oklahoma City, the median home cost is around $126,000.00. Over 95% of the properties in Oklahoma City are single family homes with only a small fraction of condos so if you need a home, Oklahoma is the place to be.
With good credit scores the latest mortgage rates can run anywhere from 5 to 5.5 % for a 30 year fixed mortgage to 4.5 to 5 % for a 15 year fixed rate. If you are ok with adjustable interest rates you can actually find a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage for around 4%. This works out to a mortgage payment of just under $604.00 per month on a 30 year fixed loan, around $890.00 for a 15 year fixed, and under $600.00 for the 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage. These are prices often lower than rent payments and you will be building equity in your own home.
With the craziness of the real estate market the value of homes in Oklahoma has fluctuated greatly in the last five years, however if you look at the last five years in Oklahoma City in particular, the average home value has gone from around $89,000 in 2005 to just over $126,000 in the first quarter of 2009, so even with the housing market fluctuations, the Oklahoma real estate market is on the rise up over 5.5% from the end of 2008. The same thing can be said in Tulsa where the average sale price of a home is up to $131,000 up roughly 4% from the end of last year. Overall in the state of Oklahoma, the median sale price of a home is at just over $129,000 which is up almost 1.5% from last year and over 4% from last quarter of 2008. Now is the time to buy and Oklahoma is the place to do it.
If you are a first time home buyer the news is even better. The government is offering up to an $8000.00 tax credit for first time home buyers. Oklahoma also has other loan programs available through the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency. There is a Section 8 transition to homeownership program designed to assist people receiving rental assistance to use a portion of those funds toward a mortgage. The Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency also has loan programs like the First Gold which offers closing cost and down payment assistance.
If you are a police officer or a fire fighter, the state of Oklahoma has home buying programs that will assist with down payment money as well as offer a low fixed rate mortgage if they meet the qualifications. There is a program with the same benefits available to you if you are teacher also. The interest rates on both of these programs are currently below 6% and offer 3.5% assistance if qualified.
If you need to sell a home in Oklahoma there is good news for you too. All of the incentives out there will translate into lots of perspective buyers looking to take advantage of the interest rates and government tax credits. Not to mention that home prices are on the rise. You should have regained much of the equity you may have lost as the market did its fall in the last few years. As property values are on the rise, getting the price you need for your home should be much simpler to get.
Do not let the opportunity to jump into real estate while rates and incentives are great. Buy that first home, sell your current home and upgrade, even invest in a second home as an income property. Whether you are a first time buyer, a real estate flipper or anything in between, the market is right for you to make that move now and it will not wait, the home prices are on the rise again, and interest rates may soon begin climbing as well. If you have been waiting for the right time, it has arrived. Do not let it pass you by.