Oklahoma City: One of the last markets to watch

Bad news first: Oklahoma City landed near the bottom of 78 “markets to watch” in 2018 in “Emerging Trends in Real Estate,” the annual look at investment prospects compiled by the Urban Land Institute and PwC.

Good news that Oklahoma City is still a market to watch, even with an overall ranking at No. 74, No. 69 in investment and No. 75 in development.

For comparison’s sake, Memphis is just ahead of us (No. 73 overall, No. 72 in investment and No. 73 in development); and Gainesville, Florida, is just behind us (No. 75 overall, No. 75 in investment and No. 76 in development).

Leading is Seattle, (No. 1 overall, No. 2 in investment and No. 1 in development); and bringing up the rear is Deltona/ Daytona Beach, Florida, (No. 78 overall, No. 78 in investment and No. 78 in development).

To see exactly how far Oklahoma City’s fortunes have fallen — at least in the estimation of the hundreds of owners, developers, investors, advisers and other players in real estate interviewed by the ULI and PwC — here’s how this column started out in examining the outlook for 2017:

Bad news first: Oklahoma City landed in the bottom half of 78 “markets to watch” in 2017 in “Emerging Trends in Real Estate,” the annual look at investment prospects compiled by the Urban Land Institute and PwC.

The good news? Oklahoma City is still a market to watch, with an overall ranking at No. 54, No. 55 in investment and No. 56 in development.

For comparison’s sake, St Louis is just ahead of us (No. 53 overall, No. 56 in investment and No. 48 in development); and Cleveland is just behind us (No. 55 overall, No. 57 in investment and No. 57 in development).

Leading is Austin, Texas, (No. 1 overall, No. 3 in investment and No. 1 in development; and bringing up the rear is Buffalo, N.Y. (No. 78 overall, No. 78 in investment and No. 76 in development).

The times, they are a-changin’. What a difference a year makes. Just wait ‘til next year. Insert your own cliche. Not good, however you say it.

The report groups Oklahoma City with the South (as well it should, I tell you what), which has seven of the top 20 markets despite Austin losing out to Seattle in this year’s ranking.

Southern cities don’t necessarily have that much in common anymore, other than maybe attitude, which the annual study picked up on.

“The reasons most often cited for the region’s attractiveness can be categorized as positive demographics supported by very competitive living and business costs,” according to the report. “Along with solid and, in some cases, significant economic growth, markets in the South have also identified challenges and opportunities that will need to be addressed to facilitate continued economic growth going forward.”

Diversity, I say, diversity, y’all, is all around us.

“The markets in the South region are extremely diverse and categorized by interviewees as burgeoning gateway markets like Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Houston, as well as the top 18-hour cities of Austin, Nashville, Charlotte, and Raleigh/Durham.

“The region also has specific industry hubs like Oklahoma City, Greenville, Louisville, and Memphis. Finally, San Antonio, Birmingham, and Knoxville are three markets that are seeing rising interest from local, regional, and select national investors.”

The report had one other specific comment about Oklahoma City, although grouped with two other cities, one a little smaller, the other one the biggest city in the South:

“Houston, Oklahoma City, and Birmingham believe the energy industry, despite recent volatility, will support current economic activity and will also facilitate the development of new technologies.”

Let us hope, especially for that last thing.