"Good thing you're in Oklahoma!" That's the frontline message behind the new $200,000 public awareness campaign launched by the Oklahoma Association of Realtors (OAR) designed to turn negative press around.

The national media has drowned the country in depressing news about the housing market, and when those kinds of stories started showing up in Oklahoma, the OAR did something about it.

Why? Housing may be whammied in Miami, or overstocked in Stockton, but it's more than OK in Oklahoma, insists the OAR.

Statewide, Oklahoma had an increase in home values of 4.2 percent last year, the seventh consecutive year in increases. While total sales were down slightly from a record high in 2006, 2007 was still the in the top three years ever recorded.

According to the local multiple listing services, Tulsa recorded 15,082 homes sold in 2007, the second best year on record. Home values were up 5.16 percent for 2007 with the average price of a home sold being $155,036.

Oklahoma City metro reported 19,142 homes sold in 2007, slightly from a record year in 2006, but prices increased by 4.68 percent with the average price of a home sold being $151,128.

"That's slow and steady," says Tammy McCullar, president of the OAR.

So why is Oklahoma side-stepping the housing meltdown so widely reported in the rest of the nation? Two good reasons. First, housing isn't as expensive. Less than 5 percent of homes in Oklahoma are under sub-prime mortgages and half the homes have fixed-rate mortgages.

Second, the state is adding jobs and in some areas, there's explosive growth. In the west, new manufacturing plants are joining the air force base at Altus to produce jobs. Consequently, Altus recorded a 34 percent increase in sales for 2007. Yet, Realtors say that buyers are beginning to head for the sidelines over fears of a mortgage-led recession.

Of the 25 boards in the state, over half are participating in the campaign, and many have adopted the catchy logo to their local markets. So it's a "Good Thing You're In Tulsa," too.

Is the campaign paying off? OAR leadership says the results have been overwhelming. KSWO TV in Lawton did a three-minute report on the campaign. A radio station in Enid took a four-minute segment to 25 minutes as the host "got into" the positive news, says Beth Payne, director of communications for the OAR.

Needless to say, the campaign has also had an empowering effect on Realtors. Not only are they seeing their membership dollars at work, they have something positive to say to buyers and sellers.

The OAR will track results through mid-April, and local boards will use the campaign through June.