Will downtown ever have affordable housing for sale?

[OU Adonis]

Will downtown ever have affordable(>$200k) housing? I would love to move down town but dropping 200+ for a small condo isn't a good deal.

Is it reasonable to think we will get housing for less than $150k for singles? Or should I pin my hopes of winning the lottery? I am just a middle income single guy, and downtown has priced us out of the market.

[Pete]

The Lofts at Maywood Park are all under $200K and are currently under construction:

The Lofts at Maywood Park

Also, you can buy units in Sycamore Square (north complex) for right around $100K.

There will be more affordable units on the way in the near future as well.

[Steve]

Yes.

[Midtowner]

800 square feet for $180K is hardly "affordable."

[johnnyincog]

what is wrong with this?

Condo/Townhouse/Co-Op - Oklahoma City, OK, 73102 - Realtor.com

[solitude]

what is wrong with this?

Condo/Townhouse/Co-Op - Oklahoma City, OK, 73102 - Realtor.com

Sycamore Square? It's an old McKinley Property-like 1970's style suburban apartment complex dropped into downtown.
That's hardly urban living.

I'm with Midtowner on the Lofts at Maywood - 800 Square Feet for $180,000.00 - in Oklahoma City???

[Kerry]

Yes.

Care to elaborate?

[Pete]

You want affordable, there are going to be trade-offs.

Welcome to the world of urban real estate!

[The Old Downtown Guy]

what is wrong with this?

Condo/Townhouse/Co-Op - Oklahoma City, OK, 73102 - Realtor.com

Sycamore Square is a suburban design plopped down in the middle of downtown OKC. All of the living spaces face into a dark poorly maintained courtyard. Maintainence on the whole complex (at least the north condo part, I've not been to the south rental part in years) is pathetic. The prices are still pretty reasonable, if you just need somewhere to sleep and keep your clothes

[OU Adonis]

Sycamore Square is a suburban design plopped down in the middle of downtown OKC. All of the living spaces face into a dark poorly maintained courtyard. Maintainence on the whole complex (at least the north condo part, I've not been to the south rental part in years) is pathetic. The prices are still pretty reasonable, if you just need somewhere to sleep and keep your clothes

Well Pete we always talk about getting more bodies downtown. To me that means you need to have homes where people who make 50k a year can live there. There is a whole lot more people that make 40 - 60k a year vs 70-100k a year in OKC.

[The Old Downtown Guy]

Yes.

I agree with Steve.

[johnnyincog]

an important question to ask is what do people consider affordable? my best guess is that any new construction in the dowtown area (midtown/AA) advertised as affordable would at the very least still be in the $125 sq/ft range. ie. 900 sq ft 2/1 for $115k. would that be reasonable?

[autoMATTic]

Well Pete we always talk about getting more bodies downtown. To me that means you need to have homes where people who make 50k a year can live there. There is a whole lot more people that make 40 - 60k a year vs 70-100k a year in OKC.

... and even 70-100k per year is not enough. These places are super-expensive. I want to own my home. I dont want my home to own me.

I want to have money left over and be able to enjoy the benefits of my surroundings and not just look at them through my thousand dollar windows.

Do the math on these places. Average 30 year note on a 300k home aint cheap.

[Midtowner]

an important question to ask is what do people consider affordable? my best guess is that any new construction in the dowtown area (midtown/AA) advertised as affordable would at the very least still be in the $125 sq/ft range. ie. 900 sq ft 2/1 for $115k. would that be reasonable?

$125 I could live with. $225 is the norm though.

[solitude]

Everyone seems to throw in the old "urban real estate" excuse as a reason to accept astronomical prices for downtown living. "Free market" is thrown around a lot. How does that square with the fact that downtown has been revitalized - in large part - by public money? Federal dollars to rebuild after 4-18-95, MAPS, other urban grants. This created the possibility for developers to even want to consider downtown as a place to develop urban housing. But now, after our tax dollars have created the new market -- all of a sudden we hear about the "Free Market," and the invisible hand nonsense. The invisible hand isn't so invisible - it's called tax dollars, public money that made it all possible to do what? Build housing for the rich.

As I've said before, it's all become nothing more than, "Nichols Hills South."

Some things never change.

For example, it's only a matter of minutes before one our rightwing posters will show up to ask what I have "against the rich" - simply for telling it like it is. I have nothing against the rich. I have a lot against the rich who use government to capitalize their business, develop their playground and then get richer selling to -- the rich. While everyone else is locked out of the newest enclave of wealthy homes. There will be no real urban vibe as long as the richest of our citizens buy up downtown so they can play city. Some even using downtown as a second home so they can retreat to their suburban McMansions when their faux urban life tires.

[OUGrad05]

Everyone seems to throw in the old "urban real estate" excuse as a reason to accept astronomical prices for downtown living. "Free market" is thrown around a lot. How does that square with the fact that downtown has been revitalized - in large part - by public money? Federal dollars to rebuild after 4-18-95, MAPS, other urban grants. This created the possibility for developers to even want to consider downtown as a place to develop urban housing. But now, after our tax dollars have created the new market -- all of a sudden we hear about the "Free Market," and the invisible hand nonsense. The invisible hand isn't so invisible - it's called tax dollars, public money that made it all possible to do what? Build housing for the rich.

As I've said before, it's all become nothing more than, "Nichols Hills South."

Some things never change.

For example, it's only a matter of minutes before one our rightwing posters will show up to ask what I have "against the rich" - simply for telling it like it is. I have nothing against the rich. I have a lot against the rich who use government to capitalize their business, develop their playground and then get richer selling to -- the rich. While everyone else is locked out of the newest enclave of wealthy homes. There will be no real urban vibe as long as the richest of our citizens buy up downtown so they can play city. Some even using downtown as a second home so they can retreat to their suburban McMansions when their faux urban life tires.

If people dont want to pay the prices they will be forced to lower their price, they wont sit on an empty building for long. I tend to agree that the prices are too high for OKC and I would guess that if they do sell right now in 3 to 5 years they'll be the same price and that owners will see little or no appreciation in the near future on downtown condo's. But thats just my thoughts on it...obviously someone at this point is buying it...but they could easily overbuild the absorbtion rates and collapse prices (happened in Miami, Dallas, LA, Las Vegas, Seattle, San Fran and a whole host of other cities...

[solitude]

]If people dont want to pay the prices they will be forced to lower their price[/b], they wont sit on an empty building for long. I tend to agree that the prices are too high for OKC and I would guess that if they do sell right now in 3 to 5 years they'll be the same price and that owners will see little or no appreciation in the near future on downtown condo's. But thats just my thoughts on it...obviously someone at this point is buying it...but they could easily overbuild the absorbtion rates and collapse prices (happened in Miami, Dallas, LA, Las Vegas, Seattle, San Fran and a whole host of other cities...

But that's my point. They ARE selling at those prices - to the rich who want to "play city," in a downtown improved by taxpayers.

[OUGrad05]

But that's my point. They ARE selling at those prices - to the rich who want to "play city," in a downtown improved by taxpayers.

So if the rich want to overpay for housing who cares? Also being able to afford a 200k property doesn't make you rich...it pretty much makes you middle class or upper middle class if you're younger...

I dont really see what the problem is, I agree with you its overpriced, and I think Midtown tulsa is overpriced so I didn't buy there. Prices correct if they are in fact bloated and in 3 to 5 years we'll know...in the meantime buy something cheaper or sit on the sidelines for downtown life and see what the market does.

[Steve]

I wrote a column about the dynamics of pricing of the downtown housing and why it has started out with so much on the upscale side. I'll repost on my blog, OKC Central — All about downtown OKC.

[Kerry]

Solitude - are you familiar with publicly funded affordable housing for the poor? Take a look at the south side of Chicago for an example. You seem to think that only the poor people are paying taxes. I can tell you that I pay a hell of a lot more taxes than the average person and I am not getting any tax rebate from Bush. Enjoy your $1200 tax rebate at my expense.

[Midtowner]

I don't think he's talking about the poor.

A young couple who makes $75,000 should be able to afford a 1500 sq. ft. place in downtown Oklahoma City. The trouble is, such a property will on average set them back $337,500.

Good luck building a downtown critical mass a $225/sq. ft.

[Kerry]

Why should they be able to afford it? Do you remember what a plasma tv cost about 5 years ago? Compare that to todays prices. Downtown housing is still a huge risk for the developers. When the market become stable and self sufficient then prices will start to come down.

[Midtowner]

What risk is there when they are being heavily subsidized with TIFF money?

Is the risk that their profit will be high versus ridiculous?

[centaurian]

uh the answer is the same 3 years later, a big simple


NO

[solitude]

Solitude - are you familiar with publicly funded affordable housing for the poor? Take a look at the south side of Chicago for an example. You seem to think that only the poor people are paying taxes. I can tell you that I pay a hell of a lot more taxes than the average person and I am not getting any tax rebate from Bush. Enjoy your $1200 tax rebate at my expense.

That's funny - you assume I'm getting one because some might consider me a liberal (actually, politically, nobody can put me in a labled box). FYI - I am not getting a rebate.

What do publicly funded housing projects have to do with what I posted?

And Mid's right - TIF, MAPS, $54 Million from the feds, who the hell do you think paid to make downtown Oklahoma City a place where developers would want to be in the first place? Maybe they do things differently in Jacksonville. I wouldn't know as, unlike you, I have chosen to live in Oklahoma City ---- I'm not blowing my horn from 1100 miles away.