Home values in Muskogee increased last year by more than 9 percent, according to a report released by the Muskogee Association of Realtors.

The report, based on local and statewide polling sponsored by the Oklahoma Association of Realtors contradicts national media coverage of a national residential housing downturn.

According to the report, the average sale price for an existing home in Muskogee rose by 9.48 percent last year, from $80,920 in 2006 to $88,595 in 2007. Statewide, the average sale price for an existing home in Oklahoma increased by 4.24 percent in 2007 — from $143,669 in 2006 to $149,758 in 2007.

The average sale price for a home in Muskogee has risen 3.57 percent each year, the report shows. Compared to 2002 prices, the average sale price of existing homes has risen 21 percent since 2002.

“Obviously, the sub-prime mortgage situation has impacted virtually every community,” said Lake Moore, president of the Muskogee Board of Realtors, in a media release. “The most important fact emerging from our research is that home ownership remains a bargain, compared to almost any housing market in the nation, and a great investment in terms of the increasing value of our residential property.

“We’ve had four robust years of sales activity since 2004, and we believe 2008 will be another great year for both buyers and sellers in our area.”

Home sales were down in 2007 based on a year-on-year comparison, the release states. The Muskogee Association of Realtors reported sales of 770 existing homes in the Muskogee multiple listing service area in 2007. The average annual sales total of existing homes in Muskogee over the three-year period of 2005-2007 is 20 percent higher than the average sales total in the previous three-year window of 2002-2004. An average of 844 homes sold per years from 2005-2007, compared to 702 homes sold per year between 2002-2004.