Midtown Oklahoma City — Oklahoma City Historical Postcards

From my Oklahoma City postcard collection…

This card is postmarked October 14th 1914. And it has a 1¢ stamp!

These houses are no longer there although they look much like the homes still in existence in Mesta Park just to the north of this location. See Mesta Park homes for sale below.

This area is now primarily commercial and a part of ‘Midtown’ Oklahoma City.

The MIDTOWN area was developed in the early 20th century with a mix of uses including residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional. For decades, the area thrived as Oklahoma City continued to grow automobile centric.

However, when Oklahoma City began to grow away from its central beginnings and longtime residents and businesses migrated outward, the MIDTOWN area began to deteriorate. Over the years, the continuing decline resulted in overgrown vacant lots and deteriorated buildings.

Today, with the renewed interest in downtown living, MIDTOWN has great potential as a viable urban neighborhood and is ready for resurgence.

The following are the new businesses that have opened in MidTown during the last 3 years: The name of the business is shown first, followed by the business address, its square footage, and the date that the business opened.

Irma’s Burger Shack, 1120 Classen Dr., 3,491 sf, Jul. 2007
1492 New World Latin Cuisine, 1207 N. Walker Ave., 3,385 sf, Sep. 2007
Meg Guess Couture Bridal & Boutique, 1227 N. Walker Ave., 2,036 sf, Dec. 2007
MidTown YMCA, 1110 Classen Dr., 10,327 sf, Feb. 2008
The Beatnix Café, 136 N.W. 13th St., 2,000 sf, Mar. 2008
Prairie Thunder Baking Co., 1114 Classen Dr., 3,538 sf, May 2008
James E. McNellie’s Public House, 1100 Classen Dr., 8,105 sf, Jun. 2008
Walgreens 1, 608 N.W. 9th St., 1,000 sf, Dec. 2008
Walgreens 2, 535 N.W. 9th St., 1,000 sf, Dec. 2008
Midtown Deli, 1215 N. Walker Ave., 2,507 sf, May 2009

As Seen Today

This view is the same as the postcard above. You can see the homes are now gone.

Mesta Park Homes For Sale

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 12. See more Currently Available - Mesta Park.
(all data current as of 9/4/2010)

1. $42,000 : 712 NW 22nd ST, Oklahoma City
   
   2 beds, 1 full bath

   Size: 1,342 sq ft

   Lot size: n/a
2. $89,000 : 717 NW 19th Street, Oklahoma City
   
   2 beds, 1 full bath

   Size: 1,499 sq ft

   Lot size: 7,000 sq ft
3. $115,000 : 825 NW 17th Street, Oklahoma City
   
   2 beds, 1 full bath

   Size: 1,134 sq ft

   Lot size: n/a
4. $399,000 : 900 Nw 18th St, Oklahoma City
   
   4 beds, 2 full baths

   Size: 2,599 sq ft

   Lot size: 7,000 sq ft
5. $289,000 : 1021 Nw 17th St, Oklahoma City
   
   4 beds, 3 full baths

   Size: 2,400 sq ft

   Lot size: 7,000 sq ft

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/midtown-oklahoma-city-oklahoma-city-historica

Real Estate Property Marketing Plan To Sell Your Oklahoma City Home — Part 23, Open House

This is the twenty-third post in the series “Real Estate Property Marketing Plan To Sell Your Oklahoma City Home”.

From our comprehensive marketing plan:

23. Open house. When appropriate, we will do an open house for your home. We will consult with you to determine if we feel we can attract qualified buyers into the home.

If you bring up the subject of open houses among a group of Realtors, you find people sharply divided on their effectiveness. I even find that sellers are divided also. Some would like us to hold their home every weekend and at the other extreme, some do not want their home held open at all.

Open houses are particularly attractive to new agents. If they’re new to the business, they typically don’t have any listings or buyers and the open house becomes a fruitful ground to find buyers. And also sellers, as most lookers have a need to sell their current home.

On the negative side for sellers and realtors, there’s unqualified buyers, nosy neighbors and tire-kickers. Then there’s the issue of security of valuables and prescription drugs.

Where is the OKCHomeSellers Team on the open house issue? First, we have a lot of experience conducting opens. We’ve represented Bill Roberts Building Company for 11 years now holding model homes open for either 6 or 7 days a week for 11 years. We know how to present a home and capture a buyer. So when we feel we have a correctly positioned home, that qualified buyers can be attracted, and the seller wants an open house, then we will do this as a part of our marketing plan.

We go to great lengths to publicizes our open houses. There are a number of sites to publish open houses. Those we use are:

1. MLS public site – centraloklahomaproperties.com
2. visual tours
3. okchomesellers.com
4. paradigmedge.com
5. trulia.com
6. zillow.com
7. our single property website
8. Facebook ads
9. our blog

This publicity and our signage will get people into your home. For your home to sell, it goes back to those things we talked about early in this series. First, and most important, your home must be priced attractively in the market. Second it must be clean. Then, it must be staged properly. Now you have the ingredients for a successful open house.

Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/real-estate-property-marketing-plan-to-sell-y

Oklahoma City Air Terminal — Oklahoma City Historical Postcards

 

From my Oklahoma City postcard collection…

This is where it began for me. If you know me at all, you know that flying was my first life.

In 1957 the National Air Show was held in Oklahoma City at Will Rogers Field. I clearly remember taking relatives to the airport before the show. A fighter was practicing for the show, broke the sound barrier and blew all the windows out of the terminal. That was impressive for a 9 year old kid! We went back the next week to the show and I was hooked. Little did I know my dreams would be fulfilled a dozen years later!

In the 1960’s this terminal was replaced with version 1.0 of what we have today and was named Will Rogers World Airport. Oklahoma City has the distinction of having the only airport using ‘world’ in it’s name. It’s also named after someone killed in a plane crash and that its’ name makes no reference to the actual location.

Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/oklahoma-city-air-terminal-oklahoma-city-hist

Oklahoma City Market Update

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via Posterize

Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/oklahoma-city-market-update-0

August 2010 Jobs Report Pushes Mortgage Rates Higher

On the first Friday of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases Non-Farm Payrolls data for the month prior. 

The data is more commonly called "the jobs report" and it's a major factor in setting mortgage rates for residents of Oklahoma and homeowners everywhere. Especially today, considering the economy.

This is because, although it's believed that the recession of 2009 is over, there's emerging talk of new recession starting.

Support for the argument is mixed:

1. Job growth has been slow, but planned layoffs touch a 10-year low
2. Consumer confidence is down, but beating expectations
3. Consumer spending is weak, but not declining

In other words, the economy could go in either direction in the latter half of 2010 and the jobs market may be the key. More working Americans means more paychecks earned, more taxes paid, and more money spent; plus, the confidence to purchase a "big ticket" items such as a home.

Jobs growth can provide tremendous support for housing, too.

Today, though, jobs growth was "fair". According to the government, 54,000 jobs were lost in August, but that reflects the departure of 114,000 Census workers.  The private sector (i.e. non-government jobs), by contrast, added 67,000. 

In addition, net new jobs was revised higher for June and July by a total of 123,000.  That's a good-sized number, too.

Right now, Wall Street is reacting with enthusiasm, bidding up stocks at the expense of bonds -- including mortgage-backed bonds.  This is causing mortgage rates to rise.  Rates should be higher by about 1/8 percent this morning.

via Posterize

Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/august-2010-jobs-report-pushes-mortgage-rates

August's Fed Minutes Lead Mortgage Rates Higher

Home affordability took a slight hit this week after the Federal Reserve's release of its August 10 meeting minutes.

The "Fed Minutes" is a lengthy, detailed recap of a Federal Open Market Committee meeting, not unlike the minutes published after a corporate conference, or condo association gathering. The Federal Reserve publishes its meeting minutes 3 weeks after a FOMC get-together.

The minutes are lengthy, too.

At 6,181 words, August's Fed Minutes is thick with data about the economy, its current threats, and its deeper strengths. The minutes also recount the conversations that, ultimately, shape our nation's monetary policy.

It's for this reason that mortgage rates are rising. Wall Street didn't see much from the Fed that warranted otherwise.

Among the Fed's observations from its minutes:

• On the economy : The recession was deeper than previously believed
• On jobs : Private employment is expanding slowly
• On housing : The market was "quite soft" in June

Now, none of this was considered "news", per se. If anything, investors were expecting for harsher words from the Fed; a bleaker outlook for the economy. And, because they didn't get it, monies moved to stocks and mortgage bonds lost.

That caused mortgage rates to rise.

The Fed meets 8 times annually. Its next meeting is scheduled for September 21, 2010. Until then, mortgage rates should remain low and home affordability should remain high. There will be ups-and-downs from day-to-day, but overall, the market is favorable.

via Posterize

Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/augusts-fed-minutes-lead-mortgage-rates-highe

Case-Shiller Posts 16th Straight Month Of Home Price Improvement

According to the Standard & Poors Case-Shiller Index, home values rose 5 percent in June versus the month prior, and 4 percent from a year earlier.  It's the 16th consecutive month in which Case-Shiller reported an increase in home values and the third straight month of outstanding results.

That said, homeowners and home buyers in Oklahoma City would do well to temper Case-Shiller enthusiasm. The June figures are issued on 60-day delay and, over the last 60 days, housing data has been lackluster at best.

• Existing Home Sales are down 27 percent
• New Home Sales are down 12 percent
• Homebuilder confidence is down

Stories like these highlight a key weakness of the Case-Shiller Index -- it's out of date as soon as it's published. Because of this, the Case-Shiller Index relevance to everyday Americans is muted. People don't buy homes in the "60 days ago" real estate market, after all.

June is ancient real estate history to buyers and sellers in Rose Creek.

However, the Case-Shiller Index does have its place. As the most widely-followed, private-sector housing tracker, the index is used to help make policy decisions and to shape Wall Street's expectations of the economy. This means that a strong Case-Shiller reading can cause mortgage rates to rise, and a weak Case-Shiller reading can cause rates to fall.

Tuesday, mortgage rates fell.

via Posterize

Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/case-shiller-posts-16th-straight-month-of-hom