Listing of the Week in Edmond.

14116 Canterbury - $309,900
4 Bed 3 Bath 2,954 Square Feet

View Obeo Virtual Tours at:

www.14116Canterbury.com

This Edmond home is located in prime area. It was custom built in 2002 on a large over sized lot. Some of the features of this home include: large open floor plan, hardwood floors, tile floors, vaulted ceilings, built-in bookcases, large kitchen with breakfast bar, beautiful woodwork, updated color schemes, bonus room, 3 living areas, huge backyard, large covered patio, etc. This home is perfect and ready for new owners! Call Wyatt Poindexter for more info.

Wyatt Poindexter
Keller Williams Realty
405-417-5466
wyatt@wyattpoindexter.com
www.WyattPoindexter.com

Email Wyatt if you want your property to be "Listing of the Week".

Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker get top marks in J.D. Power homebuyer survey

Two residential sales firms with broad operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area ranked tops in a new comparison.

Keller Williams rated highest in homebuyer survey released Thursday by consumer research firm J.D. Power and Associates.

Coldwell Banker placed second in buyer satisfaction but was highest rated by home sellers quizzed for the annual report.

The study rates national brand residential sales firms based on overall satisfaction with the agent, the office and additional services.

Re/Max and Century 21 also performed above average, according to buyers.

J.D. Power said that both buyers and sellers indicated that while the performance of the agent is the most important factor in their overall satisfaction, the importance of additional marketing services has grown in the last year.

The study also found that the number of first-time buyers in the housing market grew this year to 56 percent from 44 percent in 2008.

“The presence of more first-time buyers is encouraging, as it indicates that the real estate market is returning to more normal activity, with fewer speculators," Jim Howland, senior director of the real estate and construction practice at J.D. Power and Associates, said in the report. "However, real estate companies and agents must carefully manage first-time buyer expectations.”

J.D. Power also found that agents are holding fewer open houses to sell properties, but the number of sellers using the Internet to market their properties is at a record 64 percent.

The Power survey did not rank local and regional residential sales firms, which dominate the business in some markets.

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

Oklahoma City Defies Recession

Of the five big metro areas with the lowest unemployment rates — Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City, Washington, San Antonio and Austin — four are state or U.S. capitals and all have a large government workforce.

Oklahoma City's economy is not only diversified but, by coincidence, is strong in areas that are thriving — or at least not collapsing — in this recession:

•Government jobs: As a state capital, it has a jobs base that enjoys the stability of government — federal, state and local. Despite budget shortfalls across the USA, state and local government are among the few parts of the economy that have added jobs during the recession.

•Medical and education jobs: Oklahoma City has large medical facilities and universities, types of employers that have held up well in the recession.

•Energy jobs: Oklahoma City is home to the state's two largest oil and gas companies, Devon Energy and Chesapeake Energy.

The city also escaped the real estate bubble.

The area's median housing price is $129,900, up 4% from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. Nationally, housing prices were down 14% during that time.

"Our highs are not high, and our lows are not low," says Michael Bernard, president of the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association of Oklahoma.

April 2009 Recognition for Oklahoma

NewsOK.com was honored earlier this month as one of the top 12
newspaper media websites in the world by the International Digital
Arts and Sciences. The Washington Times, the New York Daily News,
USA Today and The Wall Street Journal were also nominated.

More than 667,000 visitors attended 50 events at the Ford Center
during the first quarter, according to SMG, which manages the
facility owned by Oklahoma City.

Bob Howard Toyota, 12929 N. Kelly Avenue, received Toyota Motor
Sales U.S.A. Inc.’s President’s Award for outstanding sales and
service. The dealership has received the award five times.

Four energy giants from Oklahoma earned spots on the annual Fortune
500 list of the country’s 500 largest publicly traded companies.
Oneok Inc. was 159th, Devon Energy Corporation placed 163rd, Williams
Company was 218th and Chesapeake Energy Corporation came in at 230th.

Baptist Medical Center and Oklahoma Heart Hospital were among the
top 125 hospitals in the nation on a list published by AARP The
Magazine. (The Journal Record, 04/01/2009)

Tulsa and Oklahoma City are among a select group of metro areas that
as of January hadn’t succumbed to the recession, according to
msnbc.com. (Tulsa World, 04/09/2009)

Oklahoma City is the winner of the “Mission:Orange” campaign by the
American Society for the Prevention to the Cruelty to Animals which
provides additional money and staff to shelters in the fight against
pet overpopulation. (The Oklahoman, 04/14/2009)

The number of visitors to the state’s tourism information centers is
up by 12% compared to last year, despite the economy. (Tulsa World,
04/14/2009)

Chesapeake Energy Corporation of Oklahoma City ranked 12th on Outside
magazine’s second annual “Best Places to Work” list. (The Journal
Record, 04/27/2009)

Nicoma Park Celebrates 50 Year Anniversary

Nicoma Park will be celebrating 50 years of community Saturday May 2. Nicoma Park officially became an incorporated city in 1959, but its history began years before that.

It was during the land run in 1889 that three brothers staked their claim in the area presently known as Nicoma Park, although at that time it was called Oak Hill.

The Founder’s Day Celebration will kick off in front of city hall on Nichols Drive at 9 a.m., and will continue to run through 11 p.m.

MARCH 2009 - Oklahoma Recognition

• According to Forbes magazine, Oklahoma City is 12th and Tulsa is
ranked the 47th top metro area “Best Places for Businesses and
Careers.” (Tulsa World, 03/31/2009)

• Tulsa’s hiring outlook is the 10th best in the country, based on a
survey by Manpower Inc. that released earlier this month. (Tulsa
World, 03/10/2009)

• Three Oklahoma companies have been named to Fortune magazine’s list
of 363 “World’s Most Admired Companies.” Devon Energy Corp., ONEOK
Inc. and Williams Cos. Inc. all made the list. (The Oklahoman,
03/04/2009)

• The rate of Oklahoma foreclosures remained steady in February,
however significantly fewer people are losing their homes compared
to a year ago. Because of this, Oklahoma has dropped to having the
34th highest foreclosure rate in the nation. (The Oklahoman,
03/12/2009)
• Foreclosures in February:
o U.S. 290,631
1 foreclosure per 440 households
o Oklahoma 1,030
1 foreclosure per 1,576 households

• Oklahoma has the largest percentage of wireless-only households in
the nation, 26%, according to a recent study by the CDC in Atlanta.
(The Oklahoman, 03/12/2009)

• Oklahoma’s laws that protect teenagers from abusive relationships
are some of the best in the country, according to a report from a
national youth advocacy group. Only four other states were given an
‘A’ rating along side Oklahoma. (The Oklahoman, 03/24/2009)

• Oklahoma ranks sixth nationally in its licensing standards and
oversight for childcare centers, according to a report from the
National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies.
(The Oklahoman, 03/13/2009)

• Oklahoma’s per capita – or per person – personal income rose from
$34,997 in 2007 to $36,899 last year. The latter figure also placed
the state at No. 4 nationally in 2008 for percentage growth, up from
No. 6 the year before. (The Oklahoman, 03/25/2009)

Great News for Home Buyers!!!

This is the greatest opportunity we have had in a long, long, time!!! Please remember: a Tax Credit is not a tax deduction. It is a dollar for dollar savings in the total income tax paid.

This provision is a direct subsidy to home buyers. Just think what this means and the opportunities it opens to us.

How big is the first time home buyers' market: about 40% of the buyers nationally!!!! What a golden opportunity for us in Oklahoma with a median house price that is low. This credit is essentially a 10% price reduction on a $80,000 house and a 5% reduction on $160,000 house.

Combine that with the lowest mortgage rates in our lifetime and the opportunity is just mind boggling.

Oklahoma City the most recession proof city in the US

Forbes magazine recently highlighted America's most recession proof cities and listed OKLAHOMA CITY as the most recession proof city in the U.S.

Forbes cites three keys to Oklahoma City's strength:

1. strong housing market
2. falling unemployment
3. strong growth in agriculture, energy and manufacturing

Oklahoma City is a great place to live!

Nationally, home prices are falling, unemployment is on the rise and the economy is expected to grow slowly--or even contract--in the first half of the year.

But Oklahoma City is doing just fine. With falling unemployment, one of the country's strongest housing markets, and solid growth in agriculture, energy and manufacturing, it looks best positioned among the nation's largest metropolitan areas to ride out the current crisis.

www.WyattPoindexter.com

How to Evalutate a Home Sellers Asking Price

Evaluating an owner's asking price is crucial to your investment. The seller can set the asking price at whatever he or she wants. There are no laws or rules that must be followed when setting an asking price for a property. In fact, there are many strategies for pricing a property that can be related to motivation, negotiation, emotional investment in a property, and so many others..
Let's first look at some possible seller strategies for pricing a property so we understand how pricing can be dependent upon so many issues.
The seller could have an idea in his or her head as to what the property is worth, and, without any consultation, pick a price out of thin air. Or they could look at comparable sales (comps) of properties that have sold near the property to determine a fair market value. They can then price the property higher or lower, depending on how motivated the seller really is.
If there are no comps to compare properties, the seller may have to judge a property's worth based on a different type of property, property that sold a long time ago, and adjust for appreciation, or even look at neighboring, comparable cities that could indicate what the property is actually worth.
A truly fair seller could get appraisals done by a few different people, and take the average of the values.
Keep in mind, however, appraisals can be very expensive and are at best a guesstimate as to what a property is worth.
The best way to evaluate a seller's asking price is to blatantly ask the Realtor or seller, how the price was determined, and to give supporting evidence.
You may find yourself in a situation where the broker has a pile of comps, perhaps an appraisal, and supporting documentation as to why the property is priced at what it is. If you find yourself in this situation, beyond validating and verifying the supporting documents, you will very easily be able to evaluate if the asking price is above, at, or below market value. This is the easiest situation in which to find yourself.
Unfortunately, although this previous example is how every property should be presented to a buyer, it is not always realistic. You may have to ask the broker for comps and do the research yourself in order to evaluate the seller's asking price.
If the property is in your own community, then, as a real estate insider, you should know your real estate market inside and out. However, if you are searching in an unfamiliar area, you will need to request the services of other commercial real estate players.
If you do decide that the seller's asking price is in alignment with your investment strategy and goals, and you put the property under contract, the next step would be to get an appraisal done by an independent party that has no interest in the subject property whatsoever, in order to validate your assumptions.
This appraisal, after all, will be similar to a bank's appraisal and help to determine how much money can be loaned on the project. The closer you are to the bank's appraisal, the better shape you will be in to meet project costs, debt service and make your desired profit.
Knowing what a property is really worth and evaluating the seller's asking price are two major ways that you can approach making a sound and final decision regarding an investment. Always have supporting and verified documentation for the subject property so you know exactly what you are getting and for what price.

Listing of the Week in NW Oklahoma City

5908 Sulgrave Manor

Oklahoma City, OK 73132

$182,500

OPEN HOUSE Aug. 17

2:00-4:00 PM

4 bed 3 bath 2530 SF (MLS #362102) Large family home in Lansbrook on quiet cul-de-sac. Walking distance to lake, community pool and rec area! Open floor plan with 3 living areas. Beautiful landscaping. 4 beds with MIL plan. Great established area close to local shopping, food, etc. SEE OBEO TOURS.

VIEW TOURS AT: www.obeo.com/486752

Wyatt Poindexter

Keller Williams Realty

405-417-5466

www.WyattPoindexter.com