Rising home prices, insurance rates burdening first time buyers

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - It’s no secret that home prices keep rising here at home and across the country with rising insurance rates also having an impact. Experts said the current market climate has made it harder for first time buyers to jump in.

"Are they being priced out of the market? Is it hard as a new home buyer?" KFOR asked Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of Realtors President-Elect Barry Whittington.

"Well, it's very difficult for sure,” he said. “I mean, we have locally and nationally, we have an affordable housing crisis."

It’s something everyone recognizes, according to Whittington. However, solutions have been hard to come by.

"The cost of building homes, the cost of materials is just, is skyrocketed,” he said.

Nationally, the median sales price of a home reached over $430,000 according to a report from NPR. That’s the highest ever while sales nationally are at a nine month low. Here in Oklahoma City, that median price reached $272,000, which is up about 5-6 percent or roughly $5,000 from last year.

"July's numbers are now coming in and that trend is really still the same,” he said.

The city has bucked the national trend in sales. Whittington said year over year sales have been up by about 2 percent. Interest rates overall stand over 6 percent.

For new home buyers though, those prices have made jumping into the market much harder with new home construction also behind demand.

"The buyers are shifting into more existing homes,” Whittington said.

While Oklahoma has some of the lowers property taxes per capita in the country, home insurance rates are adding to the issue. A 2025 report from the Consumer Federation of America showed a hike in premium averages going from over $2,600 annually in 2021, to over $3,300 annually in 2024. Oklahoma is also a top five most expensive state for coverage.

However, Whittington said if you can afford it as a first time buyer, you can jump in.

"If he does his homework, doesn't overpay for a property, when he buys, in 2-3 years he's going to build wealth off of this same 5-6 percent appreciation that we're seeing across the board,” he said.

A couple of things that can help first time home buyers are down payment assistance programs, which can cover up to 3.5 percent of your down payment, and asking the seller to help pay some of the buyers closing costs.