Oklahoma County residents now fear that rising home prices and an extraordinary population explosion are slowly ending the crisis. Oklahoma Make the city the next San Francisco, a global symbol of urban decay.
Rising house prices in the region have led to a sudden increase in evictions as locals are forced from their homes.
In fact, the Oklahoma County Tax Assessor reported that the average home price has more than tripled since 2001, from an average of $74,715 to $264,844 in 2023, an increase of 354 percent.
The spike is particularly dramatic in downtown Oklahoma City, where the average home sale price has more than doubled over the past decade to $690,000, while the rest of the state capital saw values jump by half to just $200,000, according to a recent report from real estate tracking site Property Shark.
As city centre streets become increasingly homeless, a wave of vandalism has emerged.
There are growing concerns that an extraordinary population explosion is turning once “troubled” Oklahoma City into the next San Francisco, a global symbol of urban decay.
Rising home prices have led to a sudden increase in foreclosures as locals are forced out of their homes, creating scenes reminiscent of the early days of the housing crisis in San Francisco, California (above), before it spiraled out of control.
The median home price in Oklahoma County has tripled since the turn of the century, from $74,715 to $264,844 in 2023, an increase of 354 percent
This disturbing trend is happening across America, with some once pristine Republican cities struggling to cope with an influx of foreigners seeking refuge from crime-ridden Democratic states.
But the crisis has become so acute in Oklahoma City that local leaders are warning the city could soon turn into one of the doomed metropolises that many have already left behind.
Gary Jones, director of government affairs for the Oklahoma City Metro Association of Realtors, told DailyMail.com that the current trend is similar to the beginning of the homeless epidemics that have devastated cities like San Francisco, New York and Washington DC.
“If you talk to Oklahomans who have lived here for a while, they will tell you that you can definitely see a difference,” he added.
According to the real estate agent, it had become a normal sight to see ‘people begging at major intersections and in front of large stores’, while homeless camps had quickly sprung up ‘all over the city’.
Oklahoma City was one of 14 U.S. metropolitan areas that added more than 100,000 people between 2010 and 2020
Outsiders are attracted by the city’s low unemployment rate and affordability
Jones said the growing desperation has led to a rise in property crime, with a number of break-ins into vacant buildings as people search for shelter.
The housing crisis has created a vicious circle: rising costs apparently lead to more evictions, more homelessness, and more crime.
According to data from Shelterwell, a state housing group, there were 17,868 evictions in Oklahoma County in 2023. There were 8,602 judgments resulting in eviction.
Today, the city has about 14,000 homeless people every night, of which about 500 sleep on the streets.
Last year, the city closed two homeless camps and now plans to invest $12.5 million to address the crisis.
But the building boom is focused on the high end of the market, sending prices through the roof. Pictured: A 2,585-square-foot, four-bedroom home in Oklahoma City is listed for $375,000
However, fewer affordable homes are being built, meaning rising prices have forced many onto the streets. Cyrus Whittaker, left, and Debbie Orca sit around a fire in the homeless camp where they live during record-breaking cold and snow in Oklahoma City on Feb. 16, 2021
Now, there are approximately 1.4 thousand people in the city who are homeless on any given night. Pictured: A homeless woman sits on a curb on a street in Oklahoma City in 2019
“I know someone here is saying, ‘We don’t have that in Oklahoma City,’” he told a housing meeting in November, referring to the misery in San Francisco and elsewhere.
“Well, you know, they didn’t experience it either until they got this big.”
Oklahoma City was one of 14 U.S. cities that added more than 100,000 people between 2010 and 2020.
Between 2022 and 2023, the population grew by another 1 percent, an increase of 7,589.
Local officials have warned that Oklahoma City’s current development is similar to the beginning of the homeless epidemics that have devastated cities like San Francisco (above).
Outsiders were attracted by the city’s low unemployment and affordability.
In March, it was named the third best city in the US to move to by Forbes, saying residents can “enjoy a comfortable life.”
However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve this.
According to Jones, the construction boom has focused on higher-end properties, putting new construction out of reach for about 40 percent of Oklahomans.
This creates a bottleneck in the lower market segment: homes worth between $100,000 and $150,000. These homes are not profitable for developers.
According to Jones, this has led to more tenants, rising rents and, ultimately, evictions.
He added that the crisis was exacerbated by real estate investors from New York, California and Texas buying up projects and renting them out at higher than normal prices “to make a profit.”
It’s a common trend in America. Pictured: Nashville’s housing boom is forcing locals to sleep on the streets, while wealthy newcomers are snapping up luxury apartments
Oklahoma City isn’t the only country.
In May, DailyMail.com reported that Nashville’s housing boom is leaving locals sleeping on the streets while wealthy newcomers are snapping up luxury apartments.
Meanwhile, in the picturesque mountain town of Bozeman, Montana, the sleek, modern homes of newcomers from California stand side by side with the RVs and tent camps of the town’s poor Latino population who built the RVs.
In some Republican states, the influx of money from liberal neighborhoods has angered local residents.
Residents of Eagle, a small town in Idaho, complain that hundreds of people from the American West Coast are bringing “liberal baggage” to their community.
And in Gallatin, a suburb of Nashville, residents are driving around with bumper stickers that read “Don’t California My Tennessee” in protest of the influx of outsiders.
Jones’ dire warning could set off alarm bells across America.