Delinquencies and foreclosures
Oklahoma’s foreclosure activity (defaults, auctions and REO) peaked
in third-quarter 2010, with 6,039 total foreclosure filings, according to
Attom Data Solutions’ estimates. This quarterly total was more than
double the prerecession low of 2,790 foreclosures in second-quarter
2007. Foreclosure activity remained elevated through fourth-quarter
2011 before dropping back toward normal totals, with the exception of a
short-term spike in second-quarter 2015.
As of this past July, Oklahoma’s foreclosure rate was 1.2 percent, according to CoreLogic. The national rate for that same month was 30 basis
points lower at 0.9 percent. The state’s serious delinquency rate — loans
more than 90 days delinquent — stood at 2.4 percent this past July,
50 basis points higher than the national rate of 1.9 percent.
Unemployment
Oklahoma’s unemployment rate increased less than 3 percentage points
during the Great Recession, going from 4.2 percent in July of 2007,
before the onset of the housing crisis, to a high of 7.1 percent in
December 2009 — at a time when the national unemployment rate was
9. 9 percent, according to date from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A boom in oil prices kept Oklahoma unemployment well below national averages throughout 2015, but a statewide recession brought on by
plummeting oil and natural gas prices increased Oklahoma’s unemployment above the national rate for the first time in almost 20 years in May
of 2016, when it jumped above 5 percent as the national rate fell to 4. 9
percent. As of this past August, Oklahoma’s unemployment rate stood at
4. 5 percent, still 10 basis points higher than the 4. 4 percent national rate.
Sources: Attom Data Solutions, Center for Applied Economic Research, CoreLogic,
Cushing Chamber of Commerce, Greater Oklahoma City, Office of the State Treasurer
of Oklahoma, Oil Sands Magazine, Oklahoma Association of Realtors, Oklahoma
City Convention and Visitors Bureau, Oklahoma Employment Security Commission,
Oklahoma Historical Society, Tulsa Downtown Coordinating Council, Tulsa Historical
Society & Museum, Tulsa World, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Census Bureau
Will McDermott is editor of Scotsman Guide Residential Edition.
Reach him at (800) 297-6061 or willm@scotsmanguide.com.
OKLAHOMA CITY
The state capital sprang up during the Land Run of 1889, when 50,000
people swarmed the territory at dawn (except for the “sooners”
who crossed early). Upward of 10,000 people claimed lots around
Oklahoma Station, which would become Oklahoma City. Today,
Oklahoma City is a major crossroads, sporting more than 130 miles of
federal and state highways within the metropolitan area. Powered by
more than just oil, Oklahoma City also is home to University of Oklahoma and the corporate headquarters for Hobby Lobby, American
Fidelity and Loves Travel Shops.
TULSA
Tulsa was originally settled in 1836 by Native American tribes who
arrived by way of the Trail of Tears. As late as 1898, Tulsa’s population
totaled just 1, 100. That changed when a huge oil field was discovered
in 1905. By 1909, 126 oil companies had offices in the city, then known
as the “Oil Capital of the World.” Today, Tulsa is the second-largest
city in Oklahoma, with a population of 400,000 and a unique downtown dotted by art deco towers built by oil barons in the 1920s that
stand alongside modern skyscrapers.
CUSHING
This tiny town of 8,000 people, located between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, came to prominence in 1915 when the Cushing Fields were
producing more than 300,000 barrels of oil per day — about 17 percent of the nation’s production at the time. Today, Cushing is known
for storage tanks instead of oil wells — and is home to huge farms
composed of 250,000-barrel storage tanks that can collectively
hold up to 77 million barrels of crude. Cushing, the self-proclaimed
“Pipeline Crossroads of the World,” held 16 percent of all U.S. crude-oil inventories as of this past March.
3 Cities to Watch
Oklahoma Foreclosure Filings
Source: Attom Data Solutions
Defaults Auction REO
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