By HEATHER WARLICK Oklahoma Watch Oklahoma has a housing problem. Faltering local economies and development disagreements are stalling needed housing development in rural areas, while zoning and building codes prevent much-needed small housing statewide.As a result, 41% of Oklahomans are cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their incomes on housing expenses. Oklahoma ranks 10th in poverty, with a median household income in the 12th percentile.The new Oklahoma 2024 Housing Needs Assessment shows the state’s greatest need is for the types of homes that are hardest for builders to accomplish: small and affordable.The state recently diverted hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars toward builder loans to lessen the housing problem, but several municipal-level housing rules stand between homebuilders and progress.Fewer Bedrooms Necessary The Oklahoma 2024 Housing Needs Assessment was released in the fall after two years in development. A product of University of Oklahoma students and faculty, the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency commissioned the assessment for $925,000 as a deep dive into the state’s existing housing, household incomes and size, and housing needs.The assessment shows that in rural and urban areas alike, small dwellings such as studio and one-bedroom homes are the most needed type of housing across all income groups.“Across the nation, an aging population and a decline in births means fewer large units will be needed for families and more units will be needed for single-person and non-family households,” an executive summary for the Housing Needs Assessment states.Small homes and low-income homes are the most difficult to build, said Lance Windel, owner of LW Development. He specializes in affordable and lowincome housing and innovative building techniques he said allow him to maximize efficiency for cost savings.When building small, the most expensive elements remain the same: a developed plot of land, a kitchen, bathrooms, a roof and permits.“Bigger builders, they prefer bigger houses because there’s cheap square footage in the living rooms and bedrooms,” Windel said. “The plumber doesn’t care that you put in really nice granite countertops or not, right? His cost is about the same. That’s the problem.”Zoning laws further complicate the process of building studios and one-bedrooms. When residential areas are zoned mostly for single-family homes of a certain lot size, there is little space for multifamily options, tiny homes and other alternative housing.Oklahoma Watch reported in April on Oklahoma’s exclusionary zoning laws; residential land is disproportionately skewed toward single-family zoning, particularly in Norman, Oklahoma City and ...
