SFH Investing in OKC vs Tulsa

[C. Milos]

I'm ready to purchase my second SFH, and I'm considering OKC or Tulsa. Can anyone with firsthand knowledge of the area help me understand how these markets compare? I'm sure they are both solid options, I'm just trying to be really clear on the pros and cons of each. I've looked at a lot of metrics for both cities focusing on things like population growth, job market, rent growth, etc. as well as browsing real estate listings, but it's just not painting a clear picture for me.

[Nate Sanow]

OKC, to me, is larger and growing faster, in many ways.  It’s seen tremendous growth in it’s economy, population, jobs, etc.  Prices have been up, for awhile.  Lived there 8 years and own one property there that has done really well in terms of appreciation.  

Tulsa is slowly, and sneakily catching up. I deal with so many OOS REI coming here, either directly as my client or indirectly as a listing agent. So, naturally, our prices are up too, but there are pockets of opportunity to be had, depending on the definition of success. If successful buy and hold is earning a healthy DSCR of say 1.5 then yes that is doable and repeatable. If it's, 70% of ARV minus repairs, well….we basically need to look in 2016 to be honest.

I’m a big fan of looking at investing for all it’s other benefit besides just getting a wholesale type deal, or Brrrr type deal.  However if looking for affordability, and getting a 3/2/2 below national average prices, then both cities are worth looking at.  

For the longest I was saying “Tulsa is where OKC was 5 years ago” and what I meant by that was I lived in OKC during it’s urban renewal and it was a thing of beauty to see. I’m not sure if any other city management ever decided to change their trajectory as much as what the MAPS program did in Oklahoma City.  They literally moved a major highway and rebuilt it.  However, prices are up reflecting those major anchor developments.  

Tulsa feels like it still has this fun, fresh, “we are early” type vibe in it’s changes.  The door isn’t closing on that but it’s not as fully open as before either - but again that largely depends on your metrics for success.  If getting something affordable with a low count for days on market to get rented is a win, we definitely check that box all day.