Tulsa Foreclose Houses Rose, Contrary to Another Report

Based on local real estate and foreclosure records, the number of foreclose houses in Tulsa increased in May, contrary to an earlier nationwide report indicating that foreclosures slowed down in May in Tulsa.

In the Tulsa metro area, more than 4 percent of all mortgages were in various stages of foreclosure in the March to May period this year, an increase from the 3.1-percent rate in the March to May period last year.

The nationwide report claimed that the pace of foreclosures slowed down Oklahoma by 29 percent compared to May 2008, with one housing unit in every 1,851 units getting a foreclosure action.

Nevertheless, the nationwide report could also be correct because city foreclosure trends can go against the statewide foreclosure trend.

Furthermore, real estate analysts in Tulsa said that despite the increase in foreclose houses in May, the city’s housing market is thriving. Other cities such as Owasso and Bixby have also been able to sustain their home buying and selling activities. Generally, all city housing markets in Oklahoma are not as depressed as those in other states.

Based on a nationwide foreclosure study, Oklahoma is 39th in a ranking of U.S. states in terms of foreclosure rates in May. The state had only 877 foreclosure filings, including 178 foreclose houses already in bank owned foreclosure listings. More than 500 properties were listed for trustee sales and nearly 200 were in the first stage of foreclosure.

Just like in other cities recently clobbered by increases in foreclosures despite largely escaping the foreclosure at the start because of increases in joblessness rates, Tulsa also increased its number of foreclose houses because of the rising number of jobless residents.

In May, according to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, the statewide joblessness rate rose to 6.6 percent despite indications of recovery in April.

The 6.6-percent level was the highest level Oklahoma reached since June 2003, when the jobless rate reached 6.8 percent.

Economists in Oklahoma explained that the rise in the jobless rate could be attributed also to the increased number of college graduates who just entered the work force. They said the jobless rate could have reached only 6.2 percent in May if the labor did not increase.

According to the OESC, the manufacturing sector cut the most number of jobs in May, removing 1,100 job slots over the month.

With the continued loss of jobs, the number of foreclose houses is expected to rise in Tulsa and in other places in Oklahoma.

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