Blogging Tulsa Real Estate: September 2008

What is driving Muskogee's economy?

Is it Muskogee's cute young mayor, who just turned twenty and was interviewed during the Republican National Convention?

Is it the gas play in Southeast Oklahoma stretching its impact northward?

It is very exciting to see Muskogee's success and here's why:

The 2nd Quarter 2008 MLS Statistics were just published in a real estate professional magazine called Opening Doors (Jul/ Aug/Sept 2008).

Statewide, Altus and Muskogee were the only boards who posted increases (that's the opposite of decreases) in the average number of units sold.

The statistics showed that 212 units were sold in Muskogee in 2007 and 229 units were sold in Muskogee in 2008.  That's an increase of 8.02%.

Moreover the average price of a home sold in Muskogee went fomr $88,458 in 2007 to $96,259 in 2008.  That's an increase of 8.82%.

Congratulations, Muskogee!

Now please tell me what is driving your economy?

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The development of a mass transit system with light rail and Bus Rapid Transit (BRTs) will help Tulsa attract and retain young adults.

At the today's PLANiTULSA session at the BOk Center a majority of the tables who presented their findings emphasized the importance of a mass transit system for attracting and retaining young adults, much needed for the growth and success of Tulsa's growth economy and quality lifestyle.

Each table was given a giant map of Tulsa and four packets of stickers.  Each group could only open one packet of stickers to use on their map.

The four packets of sticker choices were:

1. Trend -- Do nothing.  Just move where we've been going.
2. Economic Growth -- Empower emerging key industries
3. Empower Neighborhoods -- Make sure neighborhoods grow and prosper to empower entrepreneurial vitality
4. Attract and Retain Young Adults -- Give young people what they want and they will move to Tulsa (or come back to Tulsa) and help drive our economy

There were two 17-year old girls at my table, Claire and Hannah.  Their input was both exciting and informative for the other five of us at our table.  It was a privilege to have participated with them and to hear their input.

There were several hundred people attending this session and most of the participants were "middle aged," much older than Claire and Hannah.  Actually there was a nice cross section among age groups.  Nevertheless, most groups who presented their "stickered-up maps" chose to empower neighborhoods or to attract and retain young adults.

A big theme that emerged in how to attract and retain young adults was that emphasis has to be placed on developing a light rail system or a BRT (bus rapid transit).  Mass transit emerged as being crucial to Tulsa's strategic planning.

The development of mass transit (light rail or BRT) with central hubs at both downtown Tulsa and at the intersection of I-44 and the Broken Arrow Expressway had many different permutations among the groups who presented.   Destinations included:  Claremore, Owasso, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Sand Springs, Brookside, North Tulsa, the Airport, and the Promenade Mall.  Most groups felt it was important to make use of existing rights-of-way along the Frisco line, the Union Pacific line, or the lines that no longer have tracks on them.

Along these mass transit routes participants developed a rich urban environment, including villages and high-density housing options mixed with light office and retail for entrepreneurial lifestyles. 

One group emphasized the importance of developing a strong artery along the full length of Peoria from 71st Street straight up through North Tulsa.  This would capture the heartbeat of Tulsa.  My table thought this plan was very equitable and would encourage growth throughout the city.

What did you hear at the PLANiTULSA session you attended?

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The goal of PLANiTULSA is to develop a comprehensive plan for growth so that Tulsa can attract young skilled workers during the upcoming labor crisis.  Tulsa will be in competition with other cities for educated skilled workers.

Tulsa's population is declining.

The City of Tulsa was first incorporated in 1898.  It grew substantially with the oil boom that was kicked off by the discovery of the Glen Pool in 1905.

Since then Tulsa has had its ups and down in population growth.

According to John Fregonese, who has been hired to help Tulsa develop a new comprehensive plan, Tulsa lost six percent of its residents in the years between 2000 and 2005. 

This period of flat or declining growth coincided with an increase in growth in the region.  While Tulsa had 62% of the MSA in 1970, it now only has 42% of the MSA.

According to Mr. Fregonese, who spoke at the BOk Center this afternoon, half of Tulsa's growth will be natural growth; the other half will come from people moving in from elsewhere, from within the U.S. and from foreign countries.

OK, so big deal, who cares?  We should care.  Here's why:

By the year 2010 the country will be experiencing a labor crisis with fewer people entering the labor force.  Cities will compete for workers.

So if Tulsa wants to attract more young people into its workforce, we will need to align our planning with the Emerging American Vision in which people want economic success, social equity, and environmental responsibility.  This translates into walkability and entertainment districts among other things.

What did you get out of today's PLANiTULSA session?

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If you missed last night's PLANiTULSA session at the Greenwood Cultural Center, then drop everything today and hurry on down to the BOk Center and attend this afternoon's session of PLANiTULSA.

This is your chance to put your two cents in!

No more whining!

Bring your ideas to the BOk Center today between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM.

Parking is free at the Parking Garage of the Old City Hall building at 200 Civic Center.  Enter from the west off of 6th Street.

Be there!  We want to hear from you now -- not later when it's too late to add more concrete to add width to the walkways in the nosebleed section (oops, that should be a comment in one of my previous blogs). 

I therefore repeat:  I don't hear whining!  So be there and be heard now!

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Here's a moving tip you can use to control your clutter while you are getting your home ready for sale.  The fancy words for this are space clearing and staging.  It's just plain clutter control. 

Start boxing things that you don't absolutely have to use (your house will look bigger and uncluttered). Just take a legal pad and put at the top:  "Box 001" and then write "Box 001"  with a magic marker on a box. (Or do as one client did and create Box Labels on your computer).

Whenever you place or throw something into the box just jot it down onto the legal pad.  You can be as generic or specific as you want.  You can say, "Stuff from under Johnny's bed" or you can make a list of items as specific as "Books from Living room  Bookcase 3 Shelf B:  1) Gone With the Wind / by Margaret Mitchell...."  

Do you want your things to go into different rooms, or if you are a Senior, would you like to give things to different children?  Create Box Series so that each kid has their own sequence.  Your box numbers could look like A-001 or Deb-001 or 01-001.  Be creative. 

I have boxes in my storage unit that have been there for twenty years.  To see what is in them I just have to pull out my "Box Index" notebook.  

You can reuse boxes after you have emptied them -- or just cross individual items off your list as you remove them from the box.   Stack your boxes in your garage or in a spare room.  If you have many boxes, rent a POD or a storage unit.   

If you get hundreds of boxes together you can easily map where they are by the box numbers, so you can get to stuff while you are trying to sell the house or while in the moving process.

The important thing is to get your stuff out of the house so that prospective buyers can move their things into your house in their minds when they are touring your home.  You want them thinking about furniture placement and so they need to see the walls!

You don't want them looking at your things anyway!

So start boxing and enjoy yourself in the process!

[In case you are wondering, in a previous career -- a long long time ago in a galaxy far away -- I was a Certified Records Manager.  In fact, I was among the first 500 people to ever receive the prestigious CRM designation by the Institute of Certified Records Managers.  I let my certification lapse when I changed careers, but I still have the principles in my head.  I was trained in Library School to be a Records Manager, Rare Book Librarian, and a Law Librarian.  I ended up being in charge of the file rooms and libraries for the Law Department at Gulf Oil Corporation's Corporate Headquarters in Pittsburgh.  That was a long long time ago.  I indexed 1,500 boxes of litgation documents and had them put in a mine forever!  I boxed up entire libraries and gave attorneys access to the books while they were in storage so we could remodel the libraries and rearrange the space.  We're talking about lots of books!]

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I went to the Get Motivated Seminar today with a bunch of friends from Coldwell Banker.

It was the first time I have had the privilege to visit our new convention center, the BOk Center and I have to say I was overall very impressed even though I would make a few changes if I were queen of the world. 

I had to get over my first impression that it looked like the space ship from Lost in Space.  Someone mentioned that it reminded her of a big roll of duck tape.

Nevertheless, it is a beautiful new facility and a tribute to our city for getting the thing built.  Downtown Tulsa has needed something to get it jump started and this just might be what we needed.

OK, OK -- traffic was gridlocked at 6:30 am because 18,000 people converged on downtown Tulsa at the same time.  What else?

I am full of my own opinions, I want to hear from you!

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The VA is now allowing veterans to apply for a loan before they obtain a VA Certificate of Eligibility.  This should streamline the loan process.

According to NAR's Daily Real Estate News (9/22/08) the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has made it possible for lenders to access the VA web portal in order to get veteran's applying for VA loans approved within 24 hours using the VA's online Automated Certificate of Eligibility (ACE) system.

According to the same article, applications for VA loans increased by a rate of more than 31% over this same period last year, guaranteeing more than 162,000 home loans this year for eligible veterans, service employees, and surviving spouses.

What's more, VA loans still can be obtained without a down payment.

A VA loan is a wonderful option for borrowers in a tight market.

I ran across a post this morning on my LinkedIn groups.  There is a travel agency specializing in arranging travel accommodations for dogs.

Do you want your dog to sit next to you on the plane?  Go to http://DogTravelCompany,net.

Looking for a Bed "N Breakfast or country inn to relax with your best friend?  Go to http://DogTravelCompany,net.

Relocating to Hawaii with your dog?  Go to http://DogTravelCompany,net

Want to show your dog America by train?  Go to http://DogTravelCompany,net

These are charter flights for dog lovers.  What a gas!  Obed and Tucker would really love this!

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QuikTrip Corporation celebrated it's 50th anniversary by sponsoring a big bash at River Parks yesterday. 

The festivities began at noon on the west bank of the Arkansas River.  Leon Russell came with his band and so did Hanson.  They are all from Tulsa originally.

The night ended with a giant fireworks display.  The event was free to the public and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.

In my opinion, the best part of the entertainment was the trip down memory lane with a video collage of QuikTrip commercials where we all got to see Lamar and his antics again.

Thank you, Chester Cadieux, not just for yesterday's entertainment, but also for having given us a safe clean and enjoyable place to buy gas, pop, coffee, and food for the past fifty years.  We know we can count on QuikTrip to be give us a memorable experience every time we go there.

The first QuikTrip stored opened on South Peoria at 52nd Street in the Brookside area in 1958.

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Will Tulsa become the oil capital of the world again?

When I was a kid, my father exported oil field equipment overseas.  We lived in New York because New York City was the place from which everyone did their exporting. (He had moved his family there in 1940 from Houston, Texas in order to be in the export business.)  However, Daddy's clients were in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Whenever Daddy left home he would stop in Tulsa first, visit his clients, then stop in Houston, and then head on to Mexico, South America, and later on Australia and the far east.  He always talked about the Oil Show, the IPE (International Petroleum Exposition), and the fact that Tulsa was "the Oil Capital of the World."

Then in 1976 my parents moved back to Houston along with everyone else who was involved in "the oil boom."

When I moved to Tulsa in 1984 there were still many large oil companies in downtown Tulsa.  Then "the oil bust" came and everyone started leaving town and moving to Houston.  Tulsa no longer was the de facto oil capital.

Downtown Tulsa Unlimited struggled to keep downtown vibrant.  Then The Williams Companies diversified into the telecommunications industry and things started hopping downtown again.  Oops, Williams Communications and Worldcom declared bankruptcy in the same year. 

The strength of Tulsa's economy has been in the fact that there are many small companies here that support the oil business.  While many of the majors had left town for Houston, we still had Helmerich & Paine, Parker Drilling, Hilti, Baker Oil Tools, etc.

Added to the oil industry were businesses specializing in aviation, telecommunications, and call centers.

What will be the impact of Hurricane Ike's having slammed into the Houston ship channel and the refineries along the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention the skyscrapers in downtown Houston?

Will the captains of the oil industry reconsider their having moved their capacity directly into the jaws of storms which seem to be coming with greater ferocity and frequency?

Will the oil industry retreat back into the mid-continent?

Will Tulsa once again become the true "oil capital of the world?"

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