Ruth Ann and Henry Mertens-Oklahoma City Real Estate

CNNMoney.com offers a feature which allows you to search for your Best Place to Live based on several criteria, including Housing Affordability, Plentiful Leisure Activities, Plentiful Cultural Options, Job Growth, Sunny Weather, Short Commute Time, and Good Health Care Access.

The above criteria were assessed in the following manner:

Affordable Housing-Median home price in area

Plentiful Leisure Activities-Number of sports, concerts, family/arts events, movie theaters and restaurants

Ford Center Events

Oklahoma Redhawks Baseball

Paseo Arts District Activities and Events

National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center

Plentiful Cultural Options-Number of museums, arts theaters, and orchestras

Oklahoma City Museum of Art

Oklahoma City Philharmonic

Lyric Theater

Job Growth-From 2000 to 2006

Sunny Weather-Average number of clear days per year

Short Commute Time-Median commute time in minutes

Good Health Care Access-Number of teaching hospitals in area

If you indicate that all the above factors are Very Important to you, results show Oklahoma City as the Number 2 Best Place to Live in the U.S.!

CNNMoney Best Places to Live Search

We are fortunate to live in an area with such affordable housing and such great amenities!

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For two seasons, Oklahoma City was the temporary home for the New Orleans Hornets NBA basketball team due to the damage sustained by New Orleans during hurricane Katrina. During their time in OKC, the city embraced them, and sold-out games were the rule, rather than the exception. (GO HORNETS!) Now that the Hornets have returned to New Orleans, OKC looks to be the likely new home for the current Seattle Supersonics, as they have been purchased by investors from the metro area. If Seattle continues to refuse to build a new state-of-the-art arena for the team, it will apply to relocate to Oklahoma City.

With this opportunity to have our own permanent NBA team, rather than one "on loan" for a while, the city and its citizens are faced with a decision. We are being asked to finance improvements to our own arena, the Ford Center, to make it more attractive to the NBA. It is proposed that the improvements be financed through a temporary sales tax of 1%, which would, of course, be paid by all citizens, whether they attend basketball games or not.

Those that oppose the financing arrangement cite the fact that the money could be used for other purposes, such as upgrading of streets and transportation, which would be of greater benefit to the citizenry in general. They also feel it is unfair for those who do not attend the games or have interest in them to be asked to help finance a private business enterprise for wealthy club owners, and think it places a financial burden on those with limited incomes. There is also the concern that in another ten years, we too would be facing building of a new arena or losing our team to yet some new venue eager for NBA status. Those with these concerns favor private financing or possibly charging a sur-tax on tickets so that those who reap the benefits of the improvements are the ones who pay for them.

The mayor and those who support the idea of public financing cite the fact that the NBA presence would have a significant impact on the way others perceive our city, attracting more new businesses and improving the economy for all of us.

Good arguments on both sides! Do any of you have experience with similar situations in your locales? What is your opinion?

Oklahoma City Ford Center Website

I don't know about you, but Indian food is some of our favorite! When we can't wait any longer for some wonderful Indian cuisine, we make a bee line for Taj India Cuisine at 5801 Northwest Expressway. They have a wonderful fresh buffet, offering many vegetarian choices like Vegetable Korma, as well as some great old stand-bys, such as Chicken Tika Masala, Spinach Pakora, and Vegetable Samosa. You can also order from the menu, and we strongly suggest the Chicken Badami Pasanda, and well as the Chili Chicken, this last one if you like things spicy! Of course, the chef will prepare any item to your taste, from mild to extra hot.

We ate at two five-star Indian restaurants when we visited New York City, and neither compared to the cuisine at the Taj! In addition to wonderful food, the owners, Mani and Shantha Raju, make you feel like special guests in their own home. You will want to return again and again for their food and for their hospitality. They also have great special buffets for holidays, such as Valentine's Day, New Year's, and the Indian Festival of Lights.

According to David L. May, Ph.D., Professor of Economics at Oklahoma City University, the Oklahoma City metropolitan area economy should continue to outperform the nation as a whole for a number of reasons. Dr. May cites the following reasons for the robust local economy:

1. The Oklahoma City housing market has remained stable, and prices have not become overinflated as in some areas of the country. Therefore, the current problems with sub-prime mortgages afflicting some parts of the nation are not really too significant here.

2. Natural gas and oil are extremely important to our economy. Energy prices are expected to remain high for most of the coming year, helping to keep our economy strong.

3. Native American gaming casinos continue to grow and support increased tourism to our area.

As well, the Oklahoma City metro area has a very low cost of living. All of these factors should contribute to a strong and stable economic picture for Oklahoma City in the near future.

The severe ice storm experienced in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in November of 2007 contributed to a slower housing market. Many businesses were closed due to power outages, and prospective buyers did not get out in the difficult weather conditions to look at homes. As well, many sellers decided not to put their homes on the market, but to wait till Spring instead. Because of this, and a slow-down in new building starts, the area had a 5.5 month supply of homes at the end of 2008, down just slightly from November (The Daily Oklahoman, January 26, 2008). This compares to a 10 month housing supply nationally at the end of the year according to the same source. The Oklahoma City metro market has essentially remained stable, and avoided the steep declines seen in some areas. In fact, 2007 was the fifth most active year for home building here in the last ten years (op. cit.).

According to statistics compiled by the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of Realtors, total home sales closed in December of 2007 were down just over 18% from December 2006. However, the average sales price rose over 5%, with an average price of $156,089 last December compared to $148,312 the previous year. With Spring not too far away, a clear increase in buying interest is taking place. We both had excellent turnout for open houses held last weekend. If Spring comes, can buyers be far behind?!