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Technology has a huge effect on everything these days, including real estate in Oklahoma City. While most of the market for office space continues to recover slowly, geographic pockets with abundant tech and energy jobs are sprinting ahead of the pack. Where are these cities? In a “first glance” review of the first quarter’s U.S. office market, real estate research firm Reis says that the standout pockets are San Jose, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, New York, Austin, Seattle and Oklahoma City.

So what does this mean? Office rents are rising in these increasingly growing markets, and the tightest real estate market is in Washington, D.C., which has a 9.7% vacancy rate, followed by New York with a 9.9% vacancy rate, and rents are currently the highest in San Jose, California. Technology drives the creation of higher paying jobs, which has been a huge benefit for areas like Oklahoma City.

The real estate blog Movoto has conducted an analysis of suburbs throughout the US which brought a frightening result: Midwest City was named the fourth most dangerous suburb behind East Point, GA, Camden, NJ, and Miami Beach, FL. The blog states that 1 in 17 people who live in Midwest City are victims of some sort of crime.

According to Movoto.com, the list was based on statistics from the FBI’s uniform crime report in 2012. The bloggers looked at 116 suburbs from the 50 largest cities, for which crime data was available. They broke down the crimes into four groups, then weighed results depending on severity. Apparently Movoto.com felt the city was changing for the better last year: Midwest City was labeled the 7th safest city in Oklahoma according to the website’s 2013 report.

People who live in Midwest City enjoy life there. They have a new dog park, walking trails, a large shopping center and proximity to Oklahoma City.

The housing recovery has been an interesting road since bottoming out just a few years ago. Still to this day, the real estate market is one of the most heavily debated areas of the economy. While the national scale has shown growth in the real estate sector, each individual market tells a slightly different story. So what does the Oklahoma City market say for homeowners, buyers, sellers and investors? The market is certainly headed in the right direction, according to Realty Trac. Rapid price gains in Oklahoma City are among markets like Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver.

A concern for this areas as the housing markets strengthen? The affordability. Oklahoma City, for example has always been a fairly affordable area, but as the homes begin to cost more, it puts other industries in line to rise too. So what can you do? Moving to Oklahoma City is going to get increasingly tighter as a market in the coming months, so your best bet is to look now rather than later.

Retiring is a big step for many as they end their professional career and head into a life of relaxation. A key to that state of being is a place that is affordable, caters to a senior community, and is clean and safe. But it gets overwhelming with so many lists: the 10 sunniest places to retire, the 10 fastest-growing retirement spots, the 10 best places for military retirees, 10 historic places to retire, and 10 great places for wine lovers to retire. Searching elsewhere, you’ll find the best cities for successful aging, the best retirement havens abroad, and the 10 most relaxing cities to enjoy your golden years, among others.

For now, Oklahoma City is still an ideal place for retirement, despite its kudos in the form as the manliest city in the US, thanks to a criteria of drag racing, steak houses, bowling alleys, and pickup trucks. There is a stable economy, affordable housing, and a good infrastructure, which are the concrete criteria with which making a decision like retirement are actually handy. Personal needs, like proximity to doctors or specialists, family, and amenities will play a role in determining if retiring in Oklahoma City is right for you.

Recently, Movoto published a list of the top 15 places to live in Oklahoma, putting Norman at the top of the list and rounding out the top cities with Duncan. Cities were required to have a population of at least 10,000 to be included in the rankings. Other criteria included amenities, crime, tax rates, unemployment, commute time, weather and quality of life, including cost of living, median home price, median rent, median household income and student-to-teacher ratio.

Living in Edmond was deemed smart by the survey, while listed the area towards the top. Duncan has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Oklahoma, at 5 percent. Duncan has one of the lowest crime rates of the cities on an overall list of 43 cities, coming in seventh, the Movoto blog reported. The top 15 cities in Oklahoma, as listed by Movoto, included Norman, Edmond, Yukon, Moore, Bethany, Mustang, Jenks, Del City, Bartlesville, Owasso, Midwest City, Altus, Stillwater, Woodward and Duncan.

Officials say Oklahoma City’s abandoned and vacant properties are reducing property values. They are taking steps to fix the problem. There are more than 12,000 abandoned properties throughout the city, according to a 2013 study conducted by GSBS Richman Consulting. Living in Oklahoma City can be less appealing when you’ve got one or more of these vacant properties on your block, as they affect property values. In fact, the report’s authors say vacant and abandoned properties can reduce real estate values by 12 to 29 percent, or an estimated $2.7 billion total loss to Oklahoma City.

City Planner Matt Gabrielson said he and a delegation of seven community leaders are attending the Community Progress Leadership Institute’s (CPLI) national training program to find solutions to help fix the problem and prevent future loss. OKC is one of eight municipalities across the nation to receive an invitation. CPLI is a four-day comprehensive program designed to teach leaders how to turn vacant properties into beneficial commodities for the community. It is sponsored by the Center for Community Progress and will be March 18-21 at Harvard Law School in Boston. Other cities sending representatives include Wilmington, Del.; Springfield, Mass.; Battle Creek, Mich.; Detroit; Jackson, Miss.; Huntington, W. Va.; and Milwaukee.

The Realty Biz News website recently published a list of the top 10 places for consumers to invest in real estate. As you look for investment opportunities in 2014, take a moment to look beyond your local market. By doing so, you have the opportunity to make double digit returns on your investments. Some of the other cities include Austin, Texas, Syracuse, New York, and Gainesville, FL among the list, which is proof that college towns are great places to purchase investment properties.

In Oklahoma City, houses are a touch more expensive than some of the other markets, but average rents are approaching $1,200. Here you can expect a 10.8% return on your rental investment. These are newer houses built around 2009 requiring very little maintenance. If you are thinking of buying a home in Oklahoma City, now would be the ideal time. Whether your intention is investment or first living in a property then later using it as an investment property, the prices in Oklahoma City are bound to only go up.

According to a new report by the Wall Street Journal, Oklahoma City is included among places in the nation where the housing recovery is strong. In fact, the plains areas in the US are touted as being the nation’s steadiest markets that have strong job and population growth tied to the oil, mineral and gas industries. With nearly 2,000 people moving to the area each month, moving to Oklahoma City seems to be a trend that has caught on for many Americans.

All is not rosy, despite the general housing recovery going on just about everywhere. “Recovery” doesn’t yet mean “recovered” in 1,500 cities where prices are still below their previous high, the Journal reported. Nearly every ZIP code in Oklahoma City’s metro area is at a record high or within 5% of the previous high, according to the Journal analysis. Land is plentiful, so there isn’t a lot of competition for land to develop, which is something that drives prices up in more congested areas.

HomeVestors (“We Buy Ugly Houses”) has released a list of the top 10 real estate markets at the end of 2013, and the data analyzes low risk markets for buying, high return investment markets, and also shares markets that are still in a risky state. As of the fourth quarter of 2013’s data, the list is as follows:

1. Fort Worth

2. Dallas

3. Charlotte

4. Nashville

5. Houston

6. Atlanta

7. Oklahoma City

8. Orlando

9. Las Vegas

10. Boise City

Oklahoma City was ranked based on the low unemployment rates and ability to gain profit and appreciate thanks to a growing oil and gas industry on the local front. Thinking of moving to Oklahoma City? Now is the time to snag a bargain priced home that will see financial value growth sooner rather than later.

GE has announced their intentions to create a $110 million oil & gas technology center that will increase GE’s local role within the community and also boost the commercial development as well as drive down unemployment with the creation of new jobs. The Enid local movers have found that the community benefits of this center could be enormous. The center will be located within walking distance of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, and it is one of the most lucrative pieces of property in the health sciences district.

The emphasis on local is strong for this project, as the company has been avid about using a local architect, builder, and employing local candidates when the facility is ready. The center will then cater to clients and host potential clients from throughout the globe.