Bring On The Rain in July!!

It's been a beautiful July in The Oaks! We started the month off with unseasonably cool temps and recently enjoyed almost a week straight of rain! The Fourth of July was so cool I almost needed a jacket after the sun went down, that was a first! We spent Independence Day enjoying a nice BBQ with family then took in the view of fireworks from our backyard. Our neighborhood sits at one of the highest elevations in the city offering a terrific 360 degree view across the entire city. The Fouth of July is one of my favorite holidays and a great time to reflect on our blessing of freedom as a nation. Our course, I made my annual flag cake which I have made every year since I was 12. It's a tradition that I can't bring myself to break!

This past week we received a tremendous amount of rain, which we were all very thankful for. My rain gauge in my backyard recorded 4.5 inches of rain in 4 days! Considering our average July rainfall total is about 2.26 inches for the entire month this was pretty good! In Oak Ridge, we have a small portion of the dam completed on the new lake so we were able to catch a little bit of the run off water from all the showers. It was a beautiful sight to see!  The buffalo also highly enjoyed these days as they love cooler weather and rain!

We've also been hearing wonderful news in the national real estate market this month. New home sales and builder confidence continues to rise to some of the highest levels in five years.   I read an article in Builder Magazine stating that new home prices in many markets are predicted to rise 11 to 13 percent in 2013. The price of existing homes is expected to rise 7 to 8 percent. This is good news for everyone but what it also means is that if you're waiting to invest in a new home you're going to miss the boat. Now is the time, new homes are appreciating significantly faster than existing homes. Its a fact that new home prices will rise and rates will increase. Right now, interest rates are still wonderful! The longer you wait, the more its going to cost you to get into that beautiful home you've always dreamed of! In The Oaks we still have 9 homes ready to move into immediately. Come out, look around and talk to us about how we can make that dream become a reality sooner than you might think!

We would also like to welcome our newest resident, Dr. Le, to The Oaks. Dr. Le is a general surgeon at Southwestern Medical Center. Its great to be adding so many wonderful new faces to the neighborhood.



Happy Summer from The Oaks!

Things have been rolling along here in The Oaks this summer. Homes have sold, construction continues and we are finishing up work on our Lake in Oak Ridge.


Earlier this week we had a nice visit from the renowned TV celebrity chef, Dean Fearing who is known as the "father of Southwestern Cuisine". He came to do a photo shoot at The Ranch at Oak Ridge for his upcoming book. Chef Dean is the owner of Fearing's at the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas. Fearing's was named the best new restaurant in America by Esquire Magazine and their signature dish is our buffalo tenderloin.

We started June off by heading up to Tulsa to serve as judges for the Tulsa Parade of Homes. This is an incredible event featuring more than 150 new homes around the Tulsa metro ranging from $100K to $1 Million +. We were able to meet some very sharp people from the home building industry and view some beautiful homes and communities. We were very inspired upon returning home.

One of the things that stuck with me from our trip to Tulsa were some of the stunningly beautiful communities that we visited. These were communities filled with lakes, sidewalks and timeless, cohesive architecture. Some of these neighborhoods truly stirred my soul and made me feel right at home. It occurred to me that Lawton only has one community that even comes close to these and it is The Oaks. There are certainly some other nice neighborhoods but non that compared to what I saw in these communities. From the scale of our lakes, to the fountain, to the gazebo, to the sidewalks, to the timeless architecture, The Oaks is the only community anywhere in Lawton that even comes close to the best of what I saw.

Another dynamic is that our lakes are designed in such a way that all residents of our community can see and enjoy the beauty of the water, not just the residents whose homes back up to the lake. This is also what I saw in some of the communities in Tulsa. Oak Pointe Lake is open for everyone who lives in our neighborhoods to enjoy by fishing or simply enjoying a break from an evening walk at the gazebo. Furthermore, Oak Ridge Lake will come all the way up to 67th street and span 3/4 of a mile long. When complete it will be the largest lake in the city limits of Lawton. From the gazebo on Majestic Oak Blvd. everyone will be able to enjoy the expansive view all the way down Oak Ridge Lake.

Someone asked me a few days ago if the overall vision of "The Oaks" was my idea. I had to be honest and admit that it was not, The Oaks is the tangible dream of my Dad. My Dad began development of The Oaks neighborhoods just before I graduated from The University of Oklahoma and began construction on the first homes in Oak Pointe right when I came back to join the company full time. He is extremely creative and I am continually impressed with his vision. Now that I have joined the team I am involved with the design of each home but I must give my Dad credit for the overall vision of the community!

Pictured below is the first stage of our sunken fire pit on the center island of Oak Ridge Lake. I can envision the canopy of Oak Trees overhanging the island! I'm already dreaming of a block party for the entire neighborhood where we will give everyone rides by boat out to the islands which will be accessible by water from the homes on the lake.

I am very proud of my Dad for bringing his vision to Lawton and creating a timeless community on par with with what you will find in the larger metropolitan areas. Stay tuned for more details and come out sometime for a tour of some of our Open Houses. Homes are open for viewing every day. Head south on 67th St, 1 mile past Lee Blvd!