The Duncan Banner

Local News

April 8, 2009

Layoffs fail to impact home sales

Total number of homes sold down

Toni Hopper

DUNCAN — Recent layoffs have not yet impacted the local real estate market and that may never happen.

“As far as the economic downfall goes, we are in a great position here in Stephens County,” said Veronica Ibarra, association executive of Duncan Association of Realtors. One might think that with the layoffs and tough economic times, for sale signs would be sprouting up around the city, though Ibarra said there has not been a flood of market listings.

According to the Multiple Listing Services (MLS), the average cost of a home in Oklahoma increased 0.51 percent compared to the year end in 2007. A further breakdown reveals that in Duncan, the price from 2007 to 2008 was about 5.67 percent in residential home listings.

“This is the best time to buy a home in quite some time,” Ibarra said. “Low interest rates, our local banks are strong and they are lending. As far as refinancing, it would be more practical to buy another house, even if it is similar to the one they have.”

Ibarra explained that homebuyers will still encounter closing costs even if they just refinance their home. There are advantages to trading up.

“They will have the same closing costs for the new loan as if they would if they bought another house. The new house would probably be updated with fresh paint and probably have newer appliances.”

For the first quarter of the year, through Monday, 88 properties were sold and closed. That’s down compared to the same time in 2008, at which time 146 properties were sold and closed.

Ibarra said compiling foreclosure statistics is not something handled through Duncan Association of Realtors. She said those are usually through the banks and various lenders, so it’s difficult to know just how many foreclosures have occurred in recent weeks.

In the commercial sector, no properties were sold in March or April of 2008, nor were any sold in March of this year.

Ibarra also offered interesting thoughts on the real estate industry as a whole for this area. She said she sold real estate for seven years, but doesn’t do that now with the job that she has. Yet, she sees it as a viable career for those who might be recently unemployed and looking at a new line of work.

“The Duncan Association has seen a standard interest in the real estate industry comparative to other years.”

Ibarra said that if someone is considering such a career, to seek out others in the profession and visit with them. There is a test to study and pass and then, of course, she noted, finding the right broker/owner office to work out of is just like seeking employment.

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