Low Oil Prices Will Hurt Housing in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma

The oil boom that lifted home prices in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana appears to be coming to an end. Crude oil prices have crashed since June, falling by more than 54% to less than $50 a barrel. That drop has started to cripple job growth in oil country, creating a slow wave that in the years ahead may devastate what has been a thriving real estate market, according to Trulia. 'Oil prices won't tank home prices immediately. Rather, falling oil prices in the second half of 2014 might not have their biggest impact on home prices until late 2015 or in 2016,' Trulia chief economist, Jed Kolko explains. Kolko looked at the 100 largest housing markets where the oil industry accounted for at least 2% of all jobs. Asking prices in those cities rose 10-and-a half percent over the past year, compared with an average of 7.7% around the country. Prices climbed 13.4% in Houston, where 5.6% of all jobs are in oil-related industries. Asking prices surged 10.2% in Fort Worth, Texas, and 10.1% in Tulsa, Oklahoma.