Current Real Estate News

Tulsa, Oklahoma Real Estate Reaches New Highs

2009-10-19T03:42:00.000-07:00

Tulsa Oklahoma real estate is one of the best kept secrets on the planet. Rising above the crowd with regards to good real estate investments, Tulsa continues to prove itself as one of the premier locations to own an affordable home and live a very high quality of life. What can this emerging market do for you?

Emerging markets provide many advantages for homebuyers:

1. The real estate in emerging markets is usually inexpensive compared to other markets.

2. The potential for growth is huge. Therefore, the potential for revenue is also large.

3. Emerging markets are often wonderful places to live since they offer economic opportunity coupled with a peaceful living environment.

Tulsa is an emerging market that is clearly growing into an established market.

Economic Growth of Oklahoma

Tulsa is adding jobs to its already robust economy. In 2010, Tulsa expects to repeat its great performance last year, in which it enjoyed 1.6% job growth. This added a total of 6,300 jobs to the Tulsa Greater Metropolitan Area!

Tulsa also recently approved a plan called Vision 2025. Vision 2025 is a funding package that aims to improve and strengthen the Tulsa region. The ground plans of Vision 2025 were designed to add tens of thousands of jobs, foster the growth of small business, fuel new educational programs, and attract investment.

Economic growth will continue to attract investors in the lucrative real estate market. You just can beat the current interest rates and home prices in Tulsa. A careful analysis of the Tulsa economic landscape reveals that this is one of the best times to buy a home in Tulsa.

Quality of Life in Tulsa

While prestigious publications such as Money Magazine and Forbes have consistently rated Tulsa as one of the best places to live and work, let's take a closer look at some of what Tulsa has to offer:

1. An Urban/Rural Combination - Tulsa is a diverse, busy cityscape set amongst the beautiful, rolling hills of Green Country. Beautiful forests line the banks of the Arkansas River, which flows through Tulsa. Also, most people find Tulsa's climate to be very pleasant.

2. Low Cost of Living - You will be hard pressed to find a more inexpensive large city in the entire country. Real estate, amenities, transportation, and other expenses are competitive. It costs very little to live in Tulsa!

3. Action-Packed Sports - The Tulsa Oilers ice hockey team and the Tulsa Talons arena football team use the massive new BOK Center as their home. The powerful NCAA Division I Tulsa Golden Hurricanes and the minor league baseball Tulsa Drillers are strong teams that are always in contention for bowl games or championships.

4. Arts and Culture - The Philbrook Museum holds one of the most treasured collections of Baroque art in the entire United States. The Tulsa Ballet's annual Nutcracker production is a legendary mainstay in the Tulsa cultural scene. Other cultural gems in Tulsa include the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, the Expo Square Pavilion, and many, MANY more.

5. Convenience - Tulsa is an easy city to navigate, and has very little traffic. The interstates are known for being largely free of congestion. In addition, the Tulsa Transit bus station serves the entire metropolitan area.

There are a number of especially beautiful homes located in Tulsa's midtown developments. Florence Park homes, Indian Woods homes, Maple Park homes, and Travis Heights homes are some of the various gorgeous housing developments. The Tulsa, Oklahoma real estate market is ripe. It's a good time to invest.

Choosing a Real Estate Agent by Personality

2009-10-19T03:41:00.000-07:00

When choosing a real estate agent or realtor, what types of personalities should you look for? A realtor might have several years of experience, but that doesn't mean a great personality will follow or that his or her personality will work well with you.

If you are selling your home you will be depending on the realtor to get the job done quickly and smoothly. This process can take several months or longer and can be stressful. How you get along with your realtor is very important. If your personalities clash you might end up with a deal gone sour.

If you are looking to purchase a home, hunting for houses, making offers, and obtaining financing can be time consuming and hectic. You will want someone who you trust to be patient and listen to your needs.

Most successful agents practice sales as a four-step process:

Clearly identifying client (your) needs and interests
Identifying a range of possibilities to satisfy those needs
Determining the possibility that best fits your needs
Closing the deal

Whether you are buying or selling you might recognize this process as a basic problem solving model. Most realtors have a natural degree of interest and therefore higher involvement at different steps in the process. Regardless of their personality type, realtors should perform this process with a positive and outgoing attitude to make the process fun.

Just like people, realtors come in all types or personalities. They have varied interests, perspectives, and styles. Knowing how to identify each realtor's unique characteristics or personalities can help you quickly establish effective communication, an essential element of the sales process.

Don't Overlook the Introvert

While many people believe an extrovert makes a good real estate agent or salesperson, often the opposite can be true. While the extrovert might be fun and outgoing, they are often motivated by the social aspects of the job. On the other hand an introverted agent is often most interested in getting the job accomplished.

Your Personality Type

You will need to pay more attention to adjusting your style when your realtor has an opposite preference. If you are extremely extroverted, you may tend not to elicit important information gained through listening to a realtor who is more introverted. You might make inaccurate assumptions about the realtor's preference in helping you.

Highly extroverted personality types frequently make the assumption that their introverted counterparts do not know their own interests simply because they are not quick to communicate them. Extroverted types can easily violate both the time and space of their introverted realtors. The best tool for working effectively with a highly introverted realtor is a good set of questions complimented by good listening skills and a willingness to invest a little more time in building an effective relationship.

Real estate agents are trained professionals and no matter what type of personalities they have should always behave in a professional manner. The point to this information is to know the personality of your realtor so you can have fun and effective communication together and get the job done!

Top 5 Ways to Make Money in Real Estate

2009-07-29T06:50:00.001-07:00

With the state of the economy world-wide, everyone is looking to make extra money. While there are tons of home business ideas out there, and ways to make money online, I'm here to show you something you might not have considered -- how to make money with real estate. I know some of you may be skeptical and say, "the real estate market is down!" I'm here to tell you that now is the best time to get in on the real estate market and make some cash. Here are the current top 5 ways to make money in real estate. This post should help get the wheels turning in your head and spawn more ideas.

1.) Buy Rental Property - Buying income making property like this is nearly always a wise investment. This way, you already have established cash flow from the tenants. The income from the tenants helps to pay the mortgage and cost of upkeep, with a leftover positive cash flow. Think of it this way -- everyone needs a place to live, and apartments are usually the first choice for single people going out on their own. Buying rental property such as apartments and condos will help net you some nice extra income.

2.) Buy Low and Sell High - Take advantage of the down market -- there are many homes in foreclosure and pre-foreclosure, or owners that need to sell fast in order to move, pay a debt, etc. This is the perfect chance to buy a property at below-market value. Sometimes, you will have to hang on to this property -- let the property value appreciate -- to make the best profit, but not always. For this type of real estate money-making idea, make sure the property or house doesn't need major repairs. Minor, easy repairs are ok. Make sure to clean it up and have it looking great, and sell the property for a higher value than you paid. Take advantage of the various ways of free internet marketing to target clients looking for a property like the one you have to sell. The bottom line is, buy low and sell high and you will make a nice profit.

3.) Flip Houses - Flipping houses may seem like an overdone and costly investment and not worth your time... but it doesn't have to be. Whenever available, choose houses that are in highly-sought after areas, near popular landmarks and shopping areas, etc; Of course you need to fix the most obvious problems in the house, but also be creative -- choose repairs that are worth your time and money -- repairs that will raise the value of the house many times above what you paid. When choosing a house to flip, do your research! Flipping houses can be a very lucrative way to make money in real estate, when done correctly.

4.) Sell your property in parts - Sometimes making money in real estate requires dividing lots of land and selling those parts. For example, if you have a big lot of land around one of your residential properties, selling off part of the lot for a nice price will hardly ever decrease the value of the home on that lot -- and you will make a tidy profit in the end.

5.) Convert a home into office space - Sometimes you can get the most profit off of a property by changing and "revamping" it -- such as converting a home into an office space, converting a large old home into condos, or an office space into an apartment or condo. You take what is not needed in the building's current area and turn it into what IS needed. It may sound strange to turn a home or condo into an office space, or vice versa, but it means great cash flow for you when it's sold!

No matter which of the top 5 ways to make money in real estate ideas you get the ball rolling with, remember to do you due diligence and research, research, research! Real estate is still a hot way to make some extra money.