- Oklahoma County’s real estate market value reached $105 billion, a 7.4% year-over-year increase and a 220% increase since 2005.
- This valuation makes Oklahoma County the highest-valued county in Oklahoma, comprising 23% of the state’s $450 billion total.
- The assessed values detailed in the abstract are crucial for funding local government services, including schools and public safety.
The real estate market in Oklahoma County grew 7.4% over the past year and has more than tripled over the past 20 years on property appreciation as well as new construction, County Assessor Larry Stein said.
The assessor valued the market at $105 billion, a 220% increase since 2005, when it was $32.6 billion, in the official abstract he just filed with the Oklahoma Tax Commission. When public property is added in a later filing, the market will top $107 billion, he said.
Stein said it’s the highest value of any county in the state, accounting for 23% of the state total of $450 billion.
Comptroller Blake Ellis and staff calculated and analyzed more than 360,000 lines of data in the tedious task of determining property values, Stein said.
“It’s similar to the accuracy required to shoot a BB gun from each end of a football field and having the BBs collide,” he said in a news release. “It’s an amazing achievement by the staff.”
What exactly is an abstract?
An abstract is the basis of funding for local government, Stein said.
“The abstract,” he said, “is the foundation, the essential document, which contains information needed by public schools, cities and towns and other beneficiaries of the property tax.
“The abstract with the estimate of assessed values is the first necessary component of the balanced-budget process for local schools, public colleges, technology centers, cities and towns, libraries, essential county government services and county health departments.”
For Oklahoma County, property tax revenues, based on assessed values, make up 82% of the funds the county has for law enforcement, public safety, record keeping, and other county services, he said.
Since voters passed constitutional assessment limitations on real estate in 1996, OK County residents “have saved $1.6 billion in lower property taxes, $218 million just last year,” Stein said.
Staff writer Richard Mize covers Oklahoma County government and the city of Edmond. He previously covered housing, commercial real estate and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com, starting in 1999. Contact him at rmize@oklahoman.com.
