Oklahoma Remains Steady in Unstable Economy

Members of the Oklahoma Commercial Real Estate Council recently met to discuss the commercial real estate market in Oklahoma and concluded that it will continue to experience growth in 2009. According to leading economists, Oklahoma is still one of the leading growth markets in the nation.

Experts say that lessons learned from the past have contributed greatly to the Oklahoma market’s success. In the 80’s, the Oklahoma economy took major hits from the oil and savings and loan industry. Since then, unlike many of the other markets, Oklahoma industry professionals have operated conservatively and been hesitant to take risks—a strategy that has thus far paid off.

Oklahoma added jobs in 2008 and the unemployment rate in the state rose from 4.2 percent to only 4.6 percent from December 2007 to December 2008, while the national number jumped from 4.8 percent to 7.1 percent during the same period.

Housing has also remained strong in Oklahoma and the state has avoided being overtaken by the wave of foreclosures plaguing the entire nation. And unlike the more volatile markets, such as California, Florida and Nevada, the home prices in the state have remained steady.

Source: The Journal Record