Grove, OK Real Estate, Homes For Sale, School & Area Information

Average Mortgage rates in 2016 were 3.5%, 4% in 2017 and have climbed to 5% in October of 2018. Baby Boomers remember rates as high as 17% in the 1980's so these rates are still unbelievable to them. Millennials now buying have been use to rates as low as 2.5%. Will the 5% to 6% rates projected in 2019 scare them off or will demand still keep real estate markets hot?

Sales at the end of 2018 have started to soften in some markets (mostly the very hottest markets that have driven many buyers out because of excessive high prices). Interest rates rising may actually help owner occupants buy homes as the higher rates have "Flippers" and Investors leave the market and leave more inventory for home owners. As of 10-25-2018 there were 189 residential properties for sale in the 74344 zip code. More inventory is still needed to give buyers more choices.

Year to date (YTD) in 2018 there were 234 closed sales in the Grove zip code. Lake front homes were 69 of those sales. This compares to 262 homes sold during the same period last year which is around a 11% decline.

Here is the price breakdown of sold homes::
47 homes sold below $100,000
94 homes sold between $100,000 and $200,000
57 homes sold between $200,000 and $400,000
36 homes sold above $400,000

The 234 homes that sold averaged 94% list to sales price in the 74344 zip code. Average sales price YTD in Grove was $225,000. Two homes sold above $1,000,000. (I sold one of them)
The most expensive YTD being $1,850,000. The average days on the market for all homes sold in the NE Oklahoma MLS were 150 days.

Visit the Indian Casinos: Cherokee Casino and Grand Lake Casino. Both offer good food and beverages, entertainment and lots of fun at the slots.

Har-Ber Village: A Pioneer-era village and history museum. There are shows and lectures at different times plus pavilions that can be rented. There is also a restaurant on site.

Lendonwood Gardens: Botanical gardens

Grand Lake O'Cherokees: 1300 miles of shoreline and some of the best boating and fishing in the country. Grand Lake is not a Corp. of Engineers lake and does allow private waterfront homes with docks.

Golf Courses: Patricia Island and Quail Run in Grove plus Shangri-La Golf and Resort at nearby Monkey Island.

Cherokee Queen: River boat rides. Cruise the lake day or night. Available for special events. Starting again Spring 2019.

Daryl Starbird's National Rod and Custom Car Museum: Visit the cars this legendary builder designed in the 60's and 70's plus many other special vehicles.

Celebrate the Holidays by joining us in Grove's downtown for the annual Christmas parade. The streets of Grove come alive with over 75 lighted floats, bands and community organizations all decked out in holiday lights. The parade starts promptly at 6:00 p.m. from the Grove Civic Center, then travels north up the hill and through town to the downtown area. At the four way stop the parade will make a left hand turn and travel west on 3rd street, passing right in front of the Grove Community Building. That is where the judges will be; it is the perfect viewing location. The parade will end just a few blocks down the hill in the parking lot past Braums on the left.

You can tune into our very own KGVE radio station to hear comments on each and every float as they pass by the judges. This is always a fun community event. As with all small towns, if you are not in the parade, you are watching the parade. So grab the kids, bundle up, and come out and line the downtown streets of Grove this Saturday. Merry Christmas everyone!

The annual Christmas Breakfast/Dessert Auction for Second Chance Pet Rescue is always a very special event in December. This ticket event begins Saturday, December 10th with breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m. and the Dessert Auction will be at 9:00 a.m. Don't forget you can also shop for Christmas at the Second Chance Pet Rescue Thrift Shop at 220 E. 3rd Street. Merry Christmas
everyone.

The Cherokee Casino Grove is nearing completion. The $23 million casino is located just north of Grove and Sailboat bridge on HWY 59 and E. 250 Rd. The casino will have 400 electronic games, poker room, restaurant, bar and dance floor. The casino is suppose to open prior to 2017. This will be the 10th and newest casino owned by the Cherokee tribe.

Shangri-La Resort and Hotel on Monkey Island is well under way for a Spring 2017 opening. The 80,000 square feet hotel includes 120 guest rooms, rooftop patio and bar, an inside/outside bar, 7,000 square feet conference center, ballroom, pool and playground. The hotel will be adjacent to the new 27 hole golf course and 14,000 square feet club house.

Ferra Engineering is almost finished with their new 35,000 sqare feet facility by the Grove Airport. Ferra builds parts for the F-35 Fighter, Blackhawk Helicopter and components for solar panels and turbines. Ferra plans to grow from 11 to 100 workers over the next three years.

Orizon Aerostructures (formerly Precision Aero Group) will spend $45 million to add 80,000 square feet to its present facility where they build parts for the F-35 fighter Orizon expects to hire an additional 60 workers in the next 24 months.

Finally the Grove Performing Arts Center is under construction. Work has started adjacent to the Grove High School on this 1200 seat facility. The $12 million center will be used by area performing arts students, for community events and as a FEMA Storm Shelter.

Homes under contract and waiting to close are 12% higher than one year ago and the average sales price of homes sold are up almost 15% from a year ago (higher priced homes are selling). Total home sales are identical for the 1st 4 months of 2016 compared to 2015 at 235 sales but total listings available for sale are down 4.5% to 1570 properties. Average days on the market for sold homes are still 6 months and there is 12 months of inventory available to sell. A balanced market is 6 months or less of inventory so we still have a long way to go before we will start seeing a rise in home values in the lake area.

Fastest Markets in the U.S. for days on the market: Top 5 are Kansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Washington and Oregon at up to 30 days. Texas and Nebraska were 30-45 days and Oklahoma, Iowa and South Dakota were 46 to 60 days. North Dakota, the hottest Market starting 2015, was one of the slowest markets in early 2016 based on the price collapse of oil at over 90 days. Grand Lake in comparison was averaging 180 days average market time.
The Shiller Housing report showed that nationally home prices grew at 5.1% February 2015 to February, 2016.

Other good news that should affect the housing industry: The national unemployment rate in 2010 was 9.6%, March of 2015 it was 5.5% and march , 2016 it stood at 5%.Unemployment claims are at the lowest level since 2006.

Shangri La is s championship golf course on Grand Lake, located in the northeast corner of Oklahoma. The course has been revitalized thanks to Mr. Eddy Gibbs. Under the management of Jason Sheffield we have watched the transformation of the the course, the fabulous new club house which includes the pro shop, Buffalo Bar and patio, and Summit Restaurant. A wonderful Grand Lake destination once again!

Beautiful views can be seen of Grandlake and the Pensacola Dam from the ECO System Education Center. You can learn the history of Grandlake and take a tour of the dam. It's the perfect day trip for newcomers to the lake area.

U.S. and NE Oklahoma Economic and Housing Data and Forecast for the Rest of 2015:
Data from NAR's Chief economist, Lawrence Yun and the NE Oklahoma board of Realtors and MLS

GDP for the rest of 2015 will pick up in the 2nd ½ of the year but only 2.1 percent, good but not great.
Lower gas prices will increase consumer spending about 3%
Nationally and locally, construction spending increased 6% in the 1st ½ of 2015 and should increase at an even faster pace the last 6 months of 2015.
2.5 million NET jobs should be created in the U.S. during 2015.

There is a national housing shortage. Prior to 5 years ago there were around 1.5 million new units being built each year. Since then only around 750,000 homes have been built each year. We may not see 1.5 million units again until 2017. Most foreclosures (the Shadow Inventory) have been sold. Foreclosures now make up less than 10% of national sales and continue to fall.

Historically low interest rates (3% range) have made owning a home very affordable. This may change soon and quickly. Demand is forcing home prices up (not so much in the Grand Lake area) and interest rate increases will make payments increase substantially. Example: $200,000 loan at 3.5% for 30 years is $898 P&I. At 6% this payment would be $1199.
Nationally home prices are increasing faster the wage earners incomes.

What does this all mean? Existing and new home sales will continue to rise. There will be 5.5 million home sales in 2015, a 7% increase from 2014. Home sales are still 25% below sales prior to the 2004-2006 periods.

What's happening in the Grand Lake, Oklahoma area.
Home sales YTD from 2014 to 2015 are down 1%
Pending sales (homes under contract) are down 1.3% from 2014
Total listings available to sell are down 3% from the same period in 2014. (good news for price increases)
The average sales price of homes sold in the 1st 3 quarters of 2015 compared to 2014 is down 6.12%. $160,949 compared to $171,443 last year.
There is over a year's inventory of homes in the Grand Lake area assuming no new listings were added to the market. This is more than double what major metro areas have in the 4-States.
Average days on the market stayed at the 6 month level. This is four times the average time on the market of a Wichita, KS home.
The average sold to list ratio dropped substantially last month. August saw the highest level for 2015 at 92.8% of value but September sales dropped to 86% of last listed price. This is also indicative of the end of the summer selling season at the lake.
All in all the market is stable in the Grand Lake area. Well priced and updated homes are selling but not any faster than they have for the last two years. Prices have not really increased since the 2007-2008 period. In fact if the home has not been updated or is not in good repair you might see them selling for a discount compared to the go-go years in the early 2000's.

Report prepared October, 2015 by Wayne Short, CRB, CRS, MBA with RE/MAX Grand Lake

Please take a couple of minutes to look at this short video of one of Northeast Oklahoma's
treasures, on the west side of Grove, OK. It is one of the finest collections for viewing by the public I have ever seen! You and your family will love Har-Ber Village.

Grand Lake is one of the few lakes in the United States that allows waterfront homes with docks. You will find homes at Grand Lake on the rivers or main lake from the low $100's to the multi millions of dollars. There are over 1300 miles of shore line at Grand Lake and over 46,500 surface acres of water. Grand Lake is 67 miles long and is located in parts of three Oklahoma counties. Grand Lake is controlled by the Grand River Dam Authority and not the U.S. Corp of Engineers. This is why you are able to build and have waterfront homes at Grand Lake.

The Parrott Restaurant is a local favorite lakeside restaurant in Grove. It's located on the Honey Creek arm of Grand Lake of the Cherokees. You will enjoy fabulous lake views while dining at the Parrott.

This year marks the 31st Annual Pelican Festival here on Grand Lake on September 26th & 27th. This event celebrates the arrival of our beloved American White Pelicans. The Grove Civic Center will be buzzing with crafts, food, parades and of course cook-offs! With the beautiful fall weather we are having, this will make for a grand weekend!

The Grand Lake Area Real Estate Symposium for 2013 was held Friday, November 8 at the Grove Community Center. A light lunch was served at 11:30. Speakers included Xavier Neira, the Oklahoma Director of Development at Manhattan Construction Company, Dan Sullivan of GRDA, and Dr. Doug Cox our State Representative. I presented Real Estate Trends - Market Statistics. The link below is my PowerPoint presentation on Market Statistics - 35 slides, primarily bar graphs covering 6 years for comparison.

My End of Year 2012 Real Estate Market Analysis is now complete.
I have posted the updated detailed analysis to my SlideShare account
http://www.SlideShare.net/JeffSavage01

To briefly review the Fourth Quarter 2012 results, let me give you a few quick insights:
• Total dollars spent on real estate is up 21.7% from last year (2011)
• Total dollars spent on real estate is now over $155 Million
• Total number of properties of all types sold is up 15.2%
• Dollars spent on homes is up 14.5%
• Number of homes sold is up 10.8%
• Dollars spent on waterfront homes is up 19.7%
• Dollars spent on luxury homes ($500,000+) is up 35.4%
• Number of luxury homes sold is up 30.3%
• Dollars spent on waterfront lots is up 111.5%
• The most surprising change is farms sold are up 171.2% or $7 Million
• Conventional financing is up 20.1% or $10.2 Million
• Conventional financing loans are up 9.0%
• Cash financing is up 5.1%
• Dollars spent on South Counties real estate are up 22.9% or $9.1 Million
• Grove Area real estate remains 50% of the market

Based on information from the Northeast Oklahoma Board of Realtors© for the period January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012

My Year End 2013 Real Estate Market Analysis is now complete.
I have posted the updated detailed analysis to my SlideShare account
http://www.SlideShare.net/JeffSavage01

To briefly review the Year End 2013 results, here are a few quick insights:
• Total dollars spent on real estate was up 1% from last year (2012) which was up over 2011 by 21.7%
• Total dollars spent on real estate was almost $157 Million
• Total number of properties of all types sold is up 2.5%
• Dollars spent on homes is up 7.5%
• Number of homes sold is up 6.2%
• Dollars spent on waterfront homes is up 10.8%
• Dollars spent on luxury homes ($500,000+) is up 1%
• Number of luxury homes sold is down 5%
• Dollars spent on waterfront lots is down 55%
• Dollars spent on farms is down 42%
• Conventional financing is up 8.6% or $5 Million
• Conventional financing loans are up 3%
• Cash financing is up 23%
• Dollars spent on south counties real estate are up 12.6% or $6 Million
• Grove Area real estate remains just over 50% of the market

Based on information from the Northeast Oklahoma Board of Realtors© for the period January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013

My first quarter 2014 Real Estate Market Analysis is now complete.
I have posted the updated detailed analysis to my SlideShare account
http://www.SlideShare.net/JeffSavage01

To briefly review the First Quarter 2014 results, let me give you a few quick insights:
• Total dollars spent on real estate is up slightly from first quarter last year (2013)
• Total dollars spent on real estate is now over $31 Million
• Total number of properties of all types sold is up slightly
• Dollars spent on homes is down slightly
• Number of homes sold is up 4.2%
• Dollars spent on waterfront homes is down 10.4%
• Dollars spent on luxury homes ($500,000+) is down 7.4%
• Number of luxury homes sold is unchanged
• Dollars spent on waterfront lots is down 10.6%
• Dollars spent on farms is up 70.8%
• Conventional financing is up 11.8%
• Conventional financing loans are down 11.6%
• Cash financing is up 30.6%
• Dollars spent on South Counties real estate is up 26.4%
• Dollars spent on Grove Area real estate is down 12.5%

Based on information from the Northeast Oklahoma Board of Realtors© for the period January 1, 2014 through March 31, 2014

The Grove Oklahoma public swimming pool held its grand opening in June 2010. You will find it filled too capacity and full of fun things to do. It is always a grand place to be on those hot summer afternoons.