Why You Should Be Investing in Tulsa NOW

LA, New York City, Dallas… These are typically the cities you might think of when trying to make the big bucks investing in some real estate. Tulsa, Oklahoma… probably not the first city on your radar when you think about prime real estate. Well, for me, it is #1 on my list of the best places to be investing in right now. Tulsa born and bred! I might be slightly biased when it comes to my city. Despite the perfect mix of small-town charm and big-city vibes, I have three legit reasons why Tulsa is the perfect place to invest NOW.

For starters, Tulsa is the perfect place to get started in the real estate game because it is cheap. It is the perfect place to get your hands dirty in flipping, owning, renting, or whatever else you are interested in. You can start small and take the time to learn a thing or two before you dive into making those big decisions that could cost you some big money.

In regards to flipping or forcing equity: I can buy a 50K house, put 20K renovations in it, and sell it for 100K, easily. That’s a 30% equity! Say I wanted to rent it; I could easily rent it for $1,000 a month and have all my bases covered with the mortgage, insurance, and property taxes. The same situation, in some cases, in a more expensive city could sell for more. HOWEVER, the risk of the market downturning during your flip is MUCH greater. Then if I wanted to rent it in the more expensive market, typically that price would not be able to cover the necessities that I need to pay every month. I would have to put my money back into it and FEED the investment. While feeding the investment I’d be waiting for the market to shoot up again, so I could try to make as much profit as possible. This way is not a bad business model, however, when you’re first starting to build an empire OR maintain one, the security is unparalleled.

Another main reason I love the real estate market in Tulsa is that it is not as volatile as other big city markets. In big cities, such as LA, New York City, and Atlanta, you see these crazy markets that are constantly changing. Some people consider this “sexy.” It can definitely have a nice payoff if you play your cards right but it is also extremely risky. It is easy to overpay for a house and then once the market depreciates, lose money in the end.

Steep appreciation is great for a minute, but everything that goes up must come down. The higher the market goes, the harder it falls in the future. In Tulsa, there is a very slow and steady increase in appreciation right now. It is increasing at about 4.05%, and inflation is only increasing by about 2.1%. As long as the appreciation rate is doing better than the inflation rate, I feel safe! This isn’t considered “sexy” by a lot of real estate investors outside of Tulsa, but I personally love it. It makes the market a little more predictable and stable. I can take a lot more risks in my business by knowing my investments are somewhat safe at the end of the day. This also feeds into my decisions for the long term. With that slow and steady appreciation rate, it is much easier for me to think long term in all my decisions I am making today. By no means is Tulsa going to be recession-proof, but it will definitely feel the hit a little less than the bigger cities with the roller coaster appreciate rates.

But really, if Tulsa is so stable for the long term, why should you invest NOW?

Currently, Tulsa is in a nice transition state from barely being on the map to becoming a gold mine of opportunity. We already have a few billionaires living in Tulsa and some very recognizable business names, such as QuikTrip, Case & Associates, and the Kaiser family. Entities of which are funneling millions of dollars into revamping Tulsa as we speak. For example, just look at The Gathering Place. It is a $425 Million project that hasn’t even been completed yet and it has already made a huge impact on Tulsa. There are numerous projects going on NOW around the city that will make a huge difference in how people, residents and potential residents view Tulsa. Projects like cleaning up downtown, funneling money to small businesses, and creating cool little spots around the city that make it unique, such as the Boxyard.

While small businesses are popping up all around Tulsa, some big businesses are starting to set up shop in Tulsa soon as well. New businesses = new job opportunities. People moving to Tulsa to work or study need a place to live. Amazon is building a distribution center that will bring about 1,500 new jobs to the city. In 2018, there were about 10,000 new jobs in Tulsa. There is a huge range of people currently living in Tulsa. There is a large private university filled with students near downtown, as well as smaller community colleges all around the Tulsa area. There are the families that have been in Tulsa since the beginning, new families that are moving into the city, and the young graduates looking to start a new career.

From old businesses, new businesses, students, and everyone in between, Tulsa is growing fast. The city is investing in itself with projects to make it a more desirable place for all types of people to relocate to or stay in. There is a lot of diversity in what the city needs, but one thing is for sure, all these people need places to live. Now is the perfect time to jump in real estate investing in Tulsa because in a few years, the market is going to be booming, and you don’t want to miss out!