The Tulsa real estate market has remained fairly steady the past few years, never really reaching a high or a low. For the most part, it has been a Buyer’s market with different pockets of homes, different price ranges and locations selling in a reasonable amount of time. General rule of thumb has been that if a home is in great condition, staged well, priced competitively and marketed well, it should yield 95-97% of list price in a timely manner.
I network with Realtors across the country and have always marveled at the California Realtors receiving 20+ offers on a property the first day on market. They have been working to educate Buyers on how to write a competitive, attractive and clean offer. And I wondered how long it would take for this shift from a Buyer’s market to a Seller’s market to trickle down to Tulsa Oklahoma.
Well, it’s coming, and I can smell it. Are Buyers ready for the shift from a Buyer’s market to a Seller’s market, or are we going to experience some growing pains?
I got a call last week from a Buyer interested in seeing homes for sale in the Lortondale subdivision. What? There is not one single home for sale in Lortondale, and I had nothing to show her! Pretty sure that the next home to go up for sale in that subdivision is going to sell pretty quickly.
Now I have Buyers relocating to Tulsa in search of a two-story bungalow or colonial type home (any style other than ranch) in midtown, and their criteria is pretty basic. They need three bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a 2nd living area to be used as a playroom (could be a sunroom or fourth bedroom), and their price range is $200,000 – $350,000. Ideally the Buyer would like a detached quarters to rent out if they spend in the higher range, and she needs some place to store a large, heavy piece of printing equipment – could use the garage if nothing else is available.
FOUR of the homes they wanted to see went under contract over the weekend, so their choices today are limited. The inventory of homes available is not as high as it use to be.
Shift from a Buyer’s to a Seller’s Market – the growing pains
What does this mean for home Buyers? You are going to need to be prepared to make an offer when you find the RIGHT house. You had better have spoken to a Lender to be pre-approved and be ready to write an offer at the coffee shop.
Home Sellers are still going to need to prepare their home for sale and price their home competitively. I haven’t talked to a Buyer in two years that wanted a fixer-upper. But, if you keep doing what your Realtor advises, your home should sell closer to list price and in a shorter amount of time.
And when we begin receiving 20+ offers on our listings, I’ll pass along the blogs my California Realtor friends are writing now!
Content written and published by Lori Cain.
Good to see the market turning into a seller’s market in Tulsa Lori. The signs are we’ll be right behind you in Iowa City. A transitional market is not an easy time for buyers who are used to being in the driving seat. It’s hard to adjust with homes flying off the shelves – All the more reason to work with a good Realtor who knows how to help with the switch!
I’m breaking out the old dialogues from the last seller’s market as we speak!