Tulsa Housing Market Update: October 28, 2026
TULSA, OK, October 28, 2026 — Mortgage rates dipped slightly this week but remain far above a year ago, which makes a verified permanent builder rate a real competitor for renovated resales.
Resale Market
What the numbers show: This compares September 2026 with August 2026 using a national listing portal's monthly series for the Tulsa metro. These figures cover all home types, not just 3-bed, 2-bath houses, and they're listing figures, not closed sales.
| Tulsa metro, all home types | Aug 2026 | Sep 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median asking price | $334,995 | $329,500 | -1.6% |
| Active listings | 3,355 | 3,462 | +3.2% |
| New listings | 1,300 | 1,188 | -8.6% |
| Pending listings | 1,491 | 1,403 | -5.9% |
| Price-reduced listings | 1,400 | 1,546 | +10.4% |
| Median days on market | 56 | 60 | +7.1% |
About 44.7% of active listings carried a price cut in September, up from 41.7% in August. Compared with a year earlier, active listings were up 3.87% and the median asking price was up 1.83%.
What it means: Fewer new listings and fewer pendings, alongside more inventory and more cuts, looks like a normal seasonal slowdown with growing seller flexibility. It isn't broad price deterioration, since asking prices are still up year over year.
Sources: FRED (St. Louis Fed) · FRED (St. Louis Fed) · FRED (St. Louis Fed) · FRED (St. Louis Fed) · FRED (St. Louis Fed) · FRED (St. Louis Fed) · FRED (St. Louis Fed) · FRED (St. Louis Fed)
New-Build Competition
What the numbers show: Builder pages show asking prices only, not closed sales.
- D.R. Horton, The Cedars at the Preserve, Broken Arrow: priced "From $249,900", with 3-bed, 2-bath homes listed at $249,900 and $285,500.
- Schuber Mitchell Homes, Frazier Meadows, Jenks: a 3-bed, 2-bath close-out home listed at $359,900.
What it means: Entry-level production homes in Broken Arrow are asking prices that overlap the metro's resale median.
Sources: drhorton.com · schubermitchell.com
Verified Builder Incentives
| Term | D.R. Horton, Cedars at the Preserve | Schuber Mitchell, Frazier Meadows |
|---|---|---|
| Rate incentive | 5.50% (6.212% APR), 30-year fixed, permanent; eligible homes not specified | None published |
| Loan type and down payment | FHA example with 3.5% down; also offered on VA and USDA | Not publicly disclosed—verification required |
| Lender and deadline | Builder's affiliated lender required for the rate; must close by 11/30/2026 | Not publicly disclosed—verification required |
| Cash incentive | Up to $20,000 flex cash on select homes, usable with any lender, toward closing costs, options and upgrades; contract October 9 - November 1, 2026; close by 12/1/2026 | $10,000 flex cash on one close-out home; terms not published |
What it means: A permanent fixed rate is worth more than a temporary buydown of similar size, but this one is tied to the builder's lender and illustrated with FHA, not conventional, financing. "Up to" flex cash isn't a universal amount, and the pages don't say whether flex cash and the rate offer can be combined.
Sources: drhorton.com · schubermitchell.com
Builder-Versus-Resale Payment Comparison
Payment-equivalent price is not the builder home’s contract price, appraised value, taxable value, or buyer equity.
Assumptions: conventional loan, 5% down, 30-year fixed, principal and interest only, a $300,000 new build, and the Freddie Mac 30-year fixed average of 7.32% (October 22, 2026) for the resale. The table is partly illustrative: the builder rates are scenarios, not current offers, except 5.50%, published by D.R. Horton (DHI Mortgage; FHA 30-year fixed example, also VA/USDA) for The Cedars at the Preserve, Broken Arrow.
| Builder rate | Monthly P&I | Equal-payment resale price | Difference | Effective gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.99% | $1,528 | $234,177 | $65,823 | 21.9% |
| 5.49% | $1,616 | $247,694 | $52,306 | 17.4% |
| 5.50% | $1,618 | $247,968 | $52,032 | 17.3% |
| 5.99% | $1,707 | $261,558 | $38,442 | 12.8% |
| 7.32% (market) | $1,958 | $300,000 | $0 | 0.0% |
The 15% thesis, tested this week: a $255,000 resale at 7.32% costs $1,664 a month in principal and interest. A $300,000 new build reaches that payment only at a permanent rate of about 5.76%, roughly 1.56 percentage points under the market rate. The deepest scenario above (4.99%) is worth 21.9% of the price, above the 15% gap between $300,000 and $255,000.
Loan amount in every row: $285,000 (95% of $300,000).
- A lower resale price usually means lower property taxes and lower mortgage insurance, which widens the resale's advantage beyond principal and interest.
- Closing-cost credits lower cash needed at closing. They don't lower the monthly principal-and-interest payment.
Sources: Freddie Mac
Delist and Relist Tracker
We couldn't verify a qualifying 3-bed, 2-bath-or-larger detached withdrawal, expiration or relisting this week. The baseline starts at zero verified examples, and we'll compare against it next week.
Rental and Investor Conditions
What the numbers show: A rent-listing portal's October 2026 average asking rent for Tulsa three-bedroom units is $1,495, up 2% from last month and unchanged from a year ago. It mixes apartments and houses, so detached-house rent isn't separable.
What it means: Flat annual rents leave investors little room to pay up for renovated resales while borrowing costs stay high.
Sources: zumper.com
Financing Conditions
What the numbers show: Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed average was 7.32% as of October 22, 2026. That's down 0.08 points from 7.40% a week earlier but up 1.13 points from 6.19% a year earlier. The 10-year Treasury yield was 5.00% on 2026-10-26, down 0.12 points from 5.12% on 2026-10-20.
We couldn't verify Tulsa- or Oklahoma-specific DSCR, bridge or private-money terms this week, so we aren't quoting an average.
What it means: A slightly lower Treasury yield points to modest relief. Investor loan pricing is likely to stay elevated near-term, but that's market direction, not a measured local rate.
Sources: Freddie Mac · FRED (St. Louis Fed)
Market-Level Distress Signals
We couldn't verify current, dated Tulsa County counts for foreclosure filings, sheriff sales, tax delinquency, probate or code enforcement this week. More price cuts and longer market time are ordinary negotiation, not evidence of distress.
Regulatory and Tax Developments
What the numbers show: State Question 847 is a pending ballot question that Oklahoma voters decide on November 3, 2026. According to a state policy group, it "would further lower Oklahoma's assessment caps for property taxes beginning in 2027." It isn't enacted.
What it means: Any savings depend on passage and on how county assessors apply the measure. Owners and investors shouldn't count it in underwriting yet.
Sources: okpolicy.org
Ranked Actionable Implications
- Sellers: If a listing passes the metro's 60-day median market time without a contract, reprice rather than waiting for spring, since 44.7% of active listings already carried a cut in September and pendings fell 5.9%.
- Buyers comparing new and resale homes: Get a written loan estimate for the builder's 5.50% permanent rate and a resale quote near the 7.32% benchmark on the same loan type, then compare price and rate only, leaving flex cash spent on upgrades out of the monthly comparison.
- Investors and renovators: Underwrite rentals at the $1,495 three-bedroom asking average with zero annual rent growth, and pass on any deal that only works with rent increases, since asking rents were flat year over year while mortgage rates rose 1.13 points.
Market information is general, based on publicly available asking-price and listing data, and is not a property-specific valuation or guarantee.
About Top Dollar Home Offer
Top Dollar Home Offer is a family-owned real estate investment company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The father-and-son team of Bucky and Cove Cordray buys houses directly from their owners in as-is condition across Tulsa County and the surrounding communities, including inherited, vacant, tax-delinquent and pre-foreclosure properties, and publishes guides for homeowners facing those situations at TopDollarHomeOffer.com.
Media contact
Bucky Cordray, Founder
Top Dollar Home Offer
1831 E 71st St #4244, Tulsa, OK 74136
(918) 212-5442 · TopDollarHomeOffer.com · [email protected]
