Oklahoma County residents now fear that rising home prices and an extraordinary population boom are slowly changing Oklahoma City next to San Francisco, a global symbol of urban decay.
Skyrocketing prices across the county have led to a surge in evictions as local residents are forced out of their homes.
In fact, the Oklahoma County Assessor reported that the median home price has more than tripled since 2001, rising from an average of $74,715 to $264,844 in 2023, an increase of 354 percent.
The increase is particularly dramatic in downtown Oklahoma City, where median home sales have more than doubled to $690,000 over the past decade while the rest of the state capital saw values rise by half to just $200,000, according to a recent report from the real estate tracking site. Real estate shark.
As homeless encampments have begun to plague downtown streets, a wave of vandalism is now taking place.
There are growing fears that an extraordinary population boom is turning the once “trouble-free” city of Oklahoma into the next San Francisco, a global symbol of urban decay.
High housing prices have led to a surge in evictions as local residents are forced from 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, a 354 percent increase.
This worrying trend is taking hold across the United States, where several cities that were once Republican states are struggling to cope with an influx of foreigners seeking refuge in crime-ridden Democratic states.
But the crisis has become so acute in Oklahoma City that local officials warn it could soon become one of the doomed metropolises many have left behind.
Gary Jones, director of government affairs for the Greater Oklahoma City Association of Realtors, told DailyMail.com that its current trajectory is comparable to the beginning of the homelessness epidemics that have devastated cities like San Francisco, New York and Washington DC.
“If you talk to Oklahomans who have been here for a while, they’ll tell you you can visibly see a difference,” he added.
The real estate agent said it was now common to see “people begging at major intersections and in front of major businesses”, while homeless encampments had “sprung up across the city” almost overnight.
Oklahoma City was one of 14 US metropolises that added more than 100,000 people between 2010 and 2020
Outsiders have been drawn by the city’s low unemployment rate and affordability.
Anecdotally, growing desperation has led to an increase in some property crimes, with a spate of burglaries in vacant buildings as people try to find shelter, Jones said.
The housing crisis has created a vicious cycle: rising costs apparently lead to more evictions, which in turn lead to more homelessness and therefore more crime.
There were 17,868 evictions filed in Oklahoma County in 2023. There were 8,602 judgments resulting in eviction, according to data from Shelterwell, a state housing group.
Currently, around 1,400 people in the city are homeless every night and around 500 of them sleep on the streets.
The city closed two homeless encampments last year and now plans to spend $12.5 million to address the crisis.
But the construction boom has focused on the higher end of the market, causing prices to skyrocket. Pictured: A four-bedroom, 2,500-square-foot home in Oklahoma City for sale for $375,000
However, less affordable housing is being built, meaning rising prices have forced many people onto the streets. Cyrus Whittaker, left, and Debbie Orca sit by a campfire at the homeless encampment where they are living during record cold and snow in Oklahoma City on Feb. 16, 2021.
Currently, about 14,000 people in the city are homeless every night. Pictured: A homeless woman sits on the sidewalk of an Oklahoma City street in 2019
“I know someone here says, ‘We didn’t experience that in Oklahoma City,'” he said at a town hall on housing in November, referring to scenes of squalor in San Francisco and elsewhere.
‘Well, you know what? They didn’t experience it either until they had the growth that they had.’
Oklahoma City was one of 14 U.S. cities that added more than 100,000 people between 2010 and 2020.
Its population grew by 1 percent between 2022 and 2023, representing an increase of 7,589 people.
Local officials have warned that Oklahoma City’s current trajectory is comparable to the beginning of homelessness epidemics that have devastated cities like San Francisco (above).
Outsiders were attracted by the city’s low unemployment rate and affordability.
In March, Forbes ranked it the third-best U.S. city to move to, saying residents “can enjoy a comfortable lifestyle.”
But it is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve this.
Jones said the construction boom has focused on high-end properties, and new homes are out of reach for about 40 percent of Oklahomans.
This has created a squeeze at the lower end of the market (homes priced between $100,000 and $150,000), which are not profitable for developers.
This has meant more tenants, skyrocketing rent prices and, ultimately, evictions, Jones said.
He added that the crisis was being exacerbated by real estate investors in New York, California and Texas who were buying up housing developments and renting them out at higher than usual prices “to make a profit.”
It’s a common trend across the United States. Pictured: Nashville’s housing boom is forcing residents to sleep on the streets while wealthy newcomers snap up luxury apartments.
Oklahoma City is not alone.
In May, DailyMail.com revealed that Nashville’s housing boom is forcing locals to sleep on the streets while wealthy newcomers snap up luxury apartments.
Meanwhile, in the picturesque mountain town of Bozeman, Montana, sleek modern homes belonging to recent arrivals from California sit side by side with RVs and tent encampments housing the poor Latino population of the town that built them.
In some Republican states, the influx of money from liberal areas has angered locals.
Residents of Eagle, a small town in Idaho, have complained that hundreds of West Coasters were bringing “liberal baggage” to their community.
And in Gallatin, a Nashville suburb, residents have begun driving around with bumper stickers proclaiming “Not California, My Tennessee” in protest against the influx of outsiders.
Jones’ dire warning could set off alarm bells across the United States.
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