THE DIEHL
INDEX
A hedonic pricing model for Oklahoma County commercial real estate — the local signal that national indices miss.
The Diehl Index applies the same math on a local scale, using Oklahoma County Assessor transaction data as its specific dataset. But the model isn't locked to one place — it can be applied to any dataset, in any market, because at its core it does one thing: it shows how your local community is performing relative to the national average.
At its best, it highlights the sectors where a community is quietly outperforming — the industries that should be paying attention but aren't yet. It's built to help you find hidden value, understand where your market is heading, and make better decisions using good data and even better math.
OKLAHOMA COUNTY
VS THE NATION
Since 2000, the Diehl Index has climbed from 31.9 to 147.0 — a 360% increase in Oklahoma County commercial real estate values. Meanwhile, the national index corrected hard after 2007, cratered through 2009, and has spent 15 years clawing back. OKC never had a crash. It had a slow, relentless climb — and that divergence is the story.
Diehl Index — Oklahoma County vs National CRE Price Index (2020 = 100)
Key insight: The 2008 financial crisis destroyed national CRE values (−38% peak to trough). Oklahoma County barely flinched — the Diehl Index shows only a minor deceleration, never a decline. This resilience makes OKC a fundamentally different risk profile than coastal CRE markets.
WHERE THE MONEY
IS MOVING
FDIC data reveals how Oklahoma's commercial lending market has evolved. Total CRE loans outstanding in the state have grown from $8.3B in 2000 to $56.5B in 2025 — a nearly 7x expansion. That kind of sustained capital deployment doesn't happen in a market that's standing still.
Oklahoma CRE Lending by Type ($B)
Oklahoma Share of National CRE Lending (%)
Key insight: Oklahoma consistently holds ~1.8–2.4% of national CRE lending — punching above its population weight (~1.2% of the US). The construction & development share spikes during boom cycles, which is a leading indicator of pipeline activity before it shows up in transaction data.
THE FED VS
THE MARKET
The Federal Funds Rate is the invisible hand behind every CRE transaction. When rates drop, lending surges. When rates spike — like the 2022-2024 tightening cycle — national deal volume contracts. Toggle between Oklahoma and national lending to see how OKC responds differently to the same monetary policy.
Federal Funds Rate vs CRE Lending Volume
Key insight: Oklahoma CRE lending didn't contract during the 2022-2024 rate hike cycle the way national lending did. National construction lending fell from $503B to $461B; Oklahoma's nonresidential book kept growing. Regional banks with local relationships behave differently than national capital markets.
CONSTRUCTION
COST PRESSURE
When it costs more to build new, existing properties become more valuable. The Producer Price Index for construction has surged 47% since 2020 for office builds — creating a replacement cost floor under existing asset values. Toggle between office and nonresidential PPI to see how input costs track against local values.
Construction PPI vs Diehl Index (2020 = 100)
Key insight: From 2020 to 2025, PPI Office rose 47.5% while the Diehl Index rose 47.1%. The values are tracking each other almost perfectly — meaning Oklahoma County CRE is being repriced in line with replacement cost, not speculative momentum. This is fundamentally healthy appreciation.
YEAR OVER YEAR
Annual growth rates reveal the texture that cumulative indices smooth over. National CRE swings wildly — +23% in 2005, −30% in 2009, +14% in 2021. The Diehl Index shows a remarkably consistent growth band between 3% and 12%, with only minor dips. Stability isn't boring — it's bankable.
YoY Growth: Diehl Index vs National CRE (%)
Oklahoma vs National CRE Lending Growth (%)
Key insight: The Diehl Index has been positive every single year since 2000. Twenty-five consecutive years of growth. The national index has four negative years. This isn't luck — it's a structural characteristic of the Oklahoma County market: affordable basis, population inflows, and regional bank lending that doesn't evaporate during national credit freezes.
ASSET CLASSES
UNPACKED
Not all commercial real estate moves at the same speed. Oklahoma County industrial values have been the clear leader — rising 169 points from base, driven by logistics demand and e-commerce distribution. Retail has staged a surprising comeback since 2020, outpacing office by 13 index points. Office remains the laggard nationally, but still positive locally.
Diehl Index by Asset Class — Oklahoma County (EMA Smoothed, 2020 = 100)
Key insight: Industrial has been the dominant performer since 2018, breaking away from the pack at 169.4. Retail's resurgence to 142.3 defies the national "retail apocalypse" narrative — OKC retail is thriving because of population growth and affordable cost structures. Office at 129.3 is the weakest but still positive, far outperforming national office indices that are deeply negative post-COVID.
THE NUMBERS
Twenty-five years of annual data — every index value, every year-over-year change, every lending figure, every rate. Transparency isn't a feature. It's the point.
DATA SOURCES
& METHODOLOGY
Every number on this page is traceable to a public data source. Here's exactly how each index is built.
Diehl Index (Oklahoma County)
Hedonic pricing model using Oklahoma County Assessor transaction records. Log-linear OLS regression on price-per-SF with controls for size, age, age², quality grade, submarket district, and annual time dummies. EMA smoothed (alpha=0.3). Composite is transaction-weighted average of Retail + Industrial + Office. Base: 2020 = 100. Local Oklahoma County scope only — not statewide.
National CRE Price Index
Federal Reserve Z.1 Flow of Funds (BOGZ1FL075035503Q). Measures the level of commercial real estate prices nationally in millions of dollars. Quarterly data, Q4 values used for annual comparison. Rebased to 2020 = 100 for direct comparability with the Diehl Index.
FDIC Lending Data
Statistics on Depository Institutions via BankFind API. Quarterly Call Report aggregates for all FDIC-insured institutions. CRE categories: Construction & Development (RC-C 1.a), Multifamily 5+ units (RC-C 1.d), Nonfarm Nonresidential (RC-C 1.e). Values in thousands of dollars.
Federal Funds Rate & Construction PPI
FRED FEDFUNDS monthly data averaged to annual values. BLS Producer Price Index for Office Construction (PCU236223236223, base Jun 2006=100) and Nonresidential (WPU801, base Jun 2009=100). Both rebased to 2020 = 100.