The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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January 19, 2010

’09 home sales top expectations

By Joe Malan, Staff Writer Enid News and Eagle

ENID — Enid home sales in 2009 ended at or above expectations, local real estate officials said.

Enid Metro Association of Realtors members sold 832 homes at an average price of $108,248 in 2009, according to data provided by former EMAR President Kathy Fowler.

That’s considerably less than the 969 homes sold in 2008 at an average price of $113,822. But, Fowler said those numbers are an anomaly.

Fowler and 2010 EMAR President Jeff Shaffer said there were a few “high-end” homes sold in Enid in 2008 that accounted for the abnormally high average price.

“The high-end real estate marks in 2008 skewed the numbers,” Fowler said. “It’s absolutely not a true representation (of the housing market).”

In 2007, EMAR members sold 1,025 homes at an average price of $104,143. Because the 2008 numbers are skewed, said Fowler, 2009 represents a healthy housing market because the average price is higher than it was in 2007.

“It’s just right in line with what we were hoping we would end up with,” she said.

Shaffer said while the housing market in Enid in 2009 remained on par with the slower market nationally, there was no sharp drop-off in homes sold.

“In other words, we didn’t crash at all in Enid, Oklahoma,” Shaffer said.

Local real estate officials, including Fowler and Shaffer, say tax credits being offered by the federal government have help-ed buoy interest in real es-tate, including in Enid.

First-time homebuyers can earn up to an $8,000 tax credit on the purchase of a new home through April 30, according to Internal Revenue Service.

Additionally, some homeowners looking for a new home may be eligible for an up to $6,500 tax credit.

Shaffer said prospective homeowners should call their real estate agent if they have any questions on tax credits. They should have the latest, up-to-date information about the real estate market, he said.

One quirk about the Enid real estate market has to do with the market’s relation with the unusually warm weather the city has experienced over the last few weeks.

Fowler said at the end of 2009, when the weather was very cold, and even into early January, there weren’t a whole lot of people out looking for homes.

But since it has become unseasonably warm, Fowler says more people are out looking at homes around the city, and more calls have been made to her office.

Fowler said the number of houses sold in January so far may reflect the cold weather trend, as only 16 houses have been sold by EMAR. The 16 homes have sold at an average of $86,250.

But Fowler expects both numbers to pick up — and not only because of the weather but because of the tax credits being offered.

“The extra incentive is going to make them get off the fence and go ahead (and buy),” she said.

Shaffer agrees.

“At some point in time, (low) interest rates will rise,” he said. “Right now is the time to buy. It couldn’t be a better time for buyers.”

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