Probably one of the largest local public-interest propositions put before us in quite some time comes before voters in just under a week, and I want to encourage everyone to get out and USE YOUR VOTE! Make your opinion heard and make a difference. One of the biggest mistakes people make is not being actively involved in our political process, and it's an absolute shame. We have the freedom to be heard and make a difference in major decisions and, many times, simply don't take the time to exercise that freedom. I know, I know, you're busy and that would take time out of your day. You might miss a few minutes of your favorite TV show, or it might cause you to get to bed 20 minutes later than you'd like... READ MORE 02/28/2008

Volunteers for Animal Welfare'sSPOT Clinic Open HouseAnnual Meeting & ElectionSaturday, March 1st, 2008Time:  10:00am - 12:00pm                Where:  2017 S Santa Fe, Oklahoma City, OK  73109                                            Go to www.vawokc.org to download a map.                                           Click on SPOT Clinic and then on Map & Directions.                                             Discussions:  FUR BALL, 2008, JUNE 7TH FUNDRAISING EVENT            02/26/2008

 image courtesy of freefoto.comFor 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 ... 02/21/2008

    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, th... 02/20/2008

The Oklahoma City Metropolitan Board of Realtors runs and maintains the MLS (mutliple list service) for the OKC metro. On April 1 they will be launching a new feature which will provide additional security to our clients and community. The technology we will be using will require a different password each time we log into MLS. When I first heard about the new requirement I did not see the benefit, only an inconvenience to me.Yesterday I attended a half day seminar on the topic and can now see the purpose. Our new system, SAFEMLS will ensure user authentication and protect the valuable and sometimes sensitive information that is included in our listings. I am glad that our OKC Board of Realtors is taking the necessary steps and embracing new technology to protect the privacy of our clien... 02/20/2008

Interest rates have never been this low in 25 years.  We have lots of great listings and incredible interest rates.  You can own more home for less money.  Take advantage of the inventory and interest rate now.  www.abbymathew.com                                                 www.whyabby.com 02/20/2008

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 are... 01/29/2008

Did you know that it wasn't uncommon in the early 1900s for folks to order a home building kit from Sears and build their own home?  It's true!I've heard these stories for years but personally have never known of a home that was actually built this way, at least not one that was verified to have been.  So I found it rather interesting when I found this WikiHow article about how to spot a Sears Kit Home.  It's an interesting read if you're an agent who deals in historical homes frequently, or if you're a historical home enthusiast of any kind.If you own a Sears Kit home, or know of a home that was built with this method, please leave a comment here. I'd love to hear about it! Ryan HukillREALTOR® AssociateHukill Group - Paradigm Realty16211 N May AveEdmond, OK 73013direct.: (405) 802.HOME... 01/03/2008

It is important for any potential home buyers to get a pre-approval letter or aleast a pre-qualified letter before searching for homes.This is important because it will tell you how much house you can afford. Realtor's do not get paid hourly, they get paid based on commission. If a realtor shows someone houses for 2 months and the buyer finds his/her dream home, they make an offer. But what if that buyer gets turned down for the loan? Everyone is at a loss, the buyer can't buy his dream home, the seller thought he had sold his house, the realtor lost time and money.Getting pre-approved is an easy process. Just call any bank, credit union, mortgage broker etc and ask for a pre-approval letter. It shouldn't take more than 30 min to an hour. This does not obligate you in ANY WAY at all. So... 01/03/2008

Sales statistics for the third quarter of 2007 were recently released by the Oklahoma Association of Realtors.  While the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area experienced a 5.62% downturn from the same quarter in 2006 in the number of homes sold, the average sales price increased by 2.55% for the same period.  5,198 homes were sold in the OKC Metro area in the third quarter of 2007 versus 5,490 homes in that quarter in 2006.  The average sales price increased from $149,124 in third quarter 2006 to $153,339 in 2007.Edmond saw a negligible decrease of less than one-half of one percent in the number of homes sold in the third quarter '07 compared to that quarter in 2006, with 1,023 homes sold through September of 2007 versus 1,028 sold in the same period of 2006.  Edmond home prices decreased s... 01/01/2008

Anyone that grew up in the heart of Oklahoma has some memory of the Gold Dome building at NW 23rd & Classen. Personally, I remember it well. My Great-Uncle & Great-Aunt lived near there and we drove by it weekly. It's impossible not to notice this unusual structure, and as a kid, it makes you think of space-ships or buildings of the future.Not so long ago though (2001), it appeared that this one-of-a-kind landmark building (actually the fifth of it's kind), designed by architect R. Buckminster Fuller, would be demolished to make way for modern development. Walgreens wanted to build a store on this corner, and Bank One wanted to destroy the building, claiming it would cost too much to rehabilitate. However, residents of Oklahoma City had other ideas for the Dome.Now skip forward to today... 12/29/2007

These are pictures in the Windsor Hills Addition located in Central Oklahoma City.  The storm came in on Saturday December 8th.  Interestingly you could hear the trees snapping and crashing to the ground, along with the transformers on the poles humming and poping as the electricity was going out.  To count we are at 250,000 homes without electricity and we still have the possiblity of more ice and high winds up to 25-50 miles per hour.  The last ice storm we had was in 2002, I believe 2007 has done the most damage to date.Interestingly the tree companies are out in the droves distributing flyers.  It will be a good year for the tree trimmers!Check out something really cool @ http://animoto.com/play/4f90f793305aa7bf564f4d897461be59 12/10/2007

Anyone who's been reading the past couple of weeks knows that I had a big open house event planned for the past weekend. I want to personally thank everyone who came out to tour this beautiful 100 year-old home. It was a huge success and we got some wonderful feedback from the 36 families who visited us. In fact, several of our visitors expressed that this home is nicer than anything they saw at the Heritage Hills Historic Homes & Gardens Tour. In addition, we have 3 families who have expressed interest in this home, so we'll see what develops over the next few days.It's always fun to see how people react to such an amazing, historic, charming home. It's also fun to hear the neighbors talk about the history and tell the stories they know of Mesta Park. I learned a lot about several of t... 10/15/2007

It's here! Today kicks off the Heritage Hills Historic Homes & Gardens Tour and our public open house at 932 NW 16th St. This is your chance to see some amazing historical homes and tour a gorgeous renovation in Mesta Park that we have listed for $349,900.Read more about it here. Come out and see us today between noon and 5pm. We're anticipating quite an event!Ryan HukillREALTOR® AssociateHukill Group - Paradigm Realty16211 N May AveEdmond, OK 73013direct.: (405) 802.HOMEfax: (405) 285.8428ryanhukill@cox.netwww.YourOpenHouse.usVisit my Blog 10/13/2007

   Montereau is an elegant new subdivision in the rapidly-growing west Oklahoma City metropolitan area.  It is located at the southwest corner of Northwest 150th and County Line Road, only two miles from the Kilpatrick Turnpike, making its location one of the most convenient in the metroplex.  Great shopping and fine dining are also only minutes away via Memorial Road and the Northwest Expressway.Homes in Montereau range from traditional single-family homes starting in the low $200,000 range, to gated Villas starting at $240,000, to gated Estates on one-third acre lots starting at $450,000.  Home design is old-world European in influence, from charming English cottages to exquisite French Country homes.  You will find that no attention to detail has been spared in planning this unique a... 10/07/2007

With each neighborhood market summary I prepare, I get another small glimpse into the strength of the Oklahoma City real estate market (View the latest statistics here) and any coming trends. In spite of all the negative press the national real estate market receives, most of the midwest region is still growing and appreciating at very healthy rates. Today I was prompted by a phonecall to prepare a neighborhood summary for Whitehall, a very nice Northwest Oklahoma City neighborhood made up of 2000-4000 square foot homes. Whitehall is a conveniently located community just west of Lake Hefner, at the SE corner of Hefner and N MacArthur, within walking distance of the lake and several park areas. It's just a couple of miles off the Hefner Parkway and feeds into Putnam City North High Schoo... 08/28/2007

Oklahoma City's long-time industrial giant, Dayton Tire, closed it's doors almost a year ago, pushing about 1400 long-time employees back into the world of job-hunting. The decision affected many families and forced many changes for folks who had made a life-long career out of working for Dayton.Just this week though, something positive came from that loss. Bridgestone donated 60 acres to the Western Heights School District in a gesture of giving back to the community that supported them for 37 years. It's nice to see such a move on the part of a major corporation. While it can't heal the pain the plant-closing caused for our economy, it shows their recognition of what our great city did for them. And in the end, it appears that the closing didn't slow us Okies down much. Unemployment i... 08/28/2007

PLEASE JOIN ME AT THE HEARTLAND VIRTUAL ASSISTANT CONFERENCE SEPTEMBER 21st & 22nd LaQuinta Inn 800 S. Meridian Ave. Oklahoma City, OK Please visit our website at www.heartlandvaconference.com for more info! All Virtual Assistants are welcome! 08/14/2007

With all the beautiful new homes being built around the OKC Metro, Edmond, Deer Creek, Norman, Moore, etc, it's easy to find beauty in sticks & bricks. Believe me, I see it all day every day and although sometimes it can seem like I've seen the same things several times over, there are always a few that stand out. Those are the ones I come home and tell my wife about. Well, let me tell you about a place where every home you see stands out. It's a place where you find history and nostalgia. A place where people know the terms "carriage house" and "parlor." It's a place called Mesta Park. Most people who have been around the Oklahoma City area for most of their lives know exactly where Mesta Park is. If you don't, you owe it to yourself to drive through and see the many pieces of Oklahoma... 08/13/2007

The much-anticipated opening of our newest restaurant is finally here! Located at 2425 W Memorial Road, BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse opened today @ 11am. I haven't yet had a chance to experience BJ's for myself, but I've heard good things from friends who have been to the BJ's in Texas. They tell me it's a great mix of atmosphere and yummy pizza, sandwiches, and fresh-brewed beer. It's a place where you come as you are and enjoy some time with friends, or make new ones.Located at the South entrance of Quail Springs Mall, I would imagine BJ's will be plenty busy for some time serving Oklahoma City, Edmond, Deer Creek and the surrounding areas. Personally, I've been waiting for more variety of restaurants at the mall. We all know this area of town is at no shortage for restaurants, with ... 07/17/2007