By Heather Perry
The Leah Brown Team at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Anderson Properties
How did the opening of the new Luther exit on the Turner Turnpike in 2016 affect the housing market?
We all know the turnpike has been a fiercely debated topic in Luther. Whether you are for or against, it’s here to stay. According to the Driving Forward website, the loop is scheduled to finish by the end of spring 2019, but looking at the progress, the hearsay is more like 2020. With the imminent opening, looking back at when the current turnpike exit and entrances opened and what the housing market did can give us some idea of what the market might do again.
The full entrance and exits opened in 2016. The chart below shows that the average sales price in the Luther zip code 73054 jumped from $150,000 to $200,000. I’m speculating the drop in 2017 is due to the rumors and acquisitions of the turnpike for the new loop. Now, we have leveled back out to a $150,000 average sales price and if this trend continues, we should see a jump when the new loop opens.
You might be asking, why does a turnpike affect the housing market? Accessibility is the key component. When the loop opens it will grant quick access to a part of the metro that was previously difficult to access. The job market is another key component. Tinker Air Force base is the second largest employer in the Metro with 24,000 employees in March 2019. (https://asoft9218.accrisoft.com/okcedis/clientuploads/pdf/OKCMajorEmployers.pdf) Gaining faster access to Tinker Air Force base opens Luther to a huge market of buyers that would have not previously looked at our town to purchase a home.
These two components could mean a huge increase in demand. However, our inventory of homes has decreased. Since 2015 we went from 120 active listings of single family homes and land to now 86 active listings in 2019 in the Luther School District. Considering the law of supply and demand, we should be able to predict what will happen in our town if the demand increases because of more accessibility, but our supply is low.
My name is Heather Perry, I am a licensed Realtor with The Leah Brown Team at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Anderson Properties. I have been a #LutherLocal for about 2 years. My family loves living here and we are passionate about the town and community. I am well-versed in the local market and trends. I specialize in residential and land sales. I would love the opportunity to earn your business and become your real estate advocate! With my background as a mortgage processor, appraisal reviewer, and property investor I am able to give my clients peace of mind by walking them through every step of the real estate process. I would love to help you and I am very invested in getting you top dollar for your sale because the price your home sells for affects my home’s value!
