A new report released by the Hern Policy Institute compares state burdens on homeownership, ranking states on multiple factors. The report is a mixed bag for Oklahoma. The state ranks among the nation’s best in multiple categories, but trails well behind the majority of states in one category regarding the pace of housing permits, while trailing a majority of neighboring states in another.

“Burdens & Buyers: A Comparison of State Burdens on Homeownership,” by Robert Aery, executive director of the Hern Policy Institute, ranked Oklahoma the 15th-least burdensome state overall for homeownership. That outranked all neighboring states except Arkansas, which ranked third-best in the nation.

“This comparison is aimed at helping individuals and families better understand where their government is contributing to rising homeownership costs in their current or future state of residence, and it is created in hopes of being used as a tool for state policymakers to better understand how their state policies compare to other jurisdictions and the potential policy levers available to them in crafting reforms that might alleviate costs to homeowners that are created by government,” Aery wrote.

Oklahoma was ranked 10th-best for long-term homeownership burdens, a measure that included effective property tax rates plus property tax rates/income plus average utility bills. Neighboring Arkansas was ranked best in the country, while neighboring New Mexico was ranked seventh best. No other bordering state outranked Oklahoma.

Oklahoma ranked 20th best for burdens at purchase, a measure of the transfer tax plus average closing costs. Four of the six states that border Oklahoma ranked higher, and Texas trailed Oklahoma by only two spots.

Oklahoma ranked 38th in burdens on construction, which measured permits to population and permit-to-population growth. All bordering states ranked higher.

Oklahoma ranked 14th best on burdens on use, which measured zoning restrictiveness. Only neighboring Missouri and Texas ranked higher, landing in the 12th and 13th spots, respectively.

Aery noted that the most burdensome states for homeowners were “strongly connected by geography, primarily centered on the northeastern United States.” Nine of the 10 most burdensome states in the overall index were in the Northeast.

He noted that 18 out of the top 25 overall least burdensome states for homeowners in the report are also among the top 25 least expensive states in recent cost-of-living rankings.

The report noted that property taxes “are the most direct path to providing relief to homeowners, especially in terms of long-term costs,” particularly in states that “exceed other states in effective property tax rates or property tax-to-income ratios.” However, in states with “more competitive property tax structures,” the report said policymakers may need to consider other approaches.

In the report, Aery stated that “one potential area of reform to decrease burdens on homeowners is found in the income tax” since that is “an additional lever to pull” to generate relief for citizens’ homeowner costs.

And restrained regulation is also a straightforward path to improvement, Aery noted.

“Most states then have multiple avenues available to them to improve their positions in relation to their competitor states,” Aery wrote. “From streamlining their permitting process to providing more flexibility to developers in their zoning structures, the data reveals that many states have plenty of room to remove burdens on their homeowners in comparison to their peers.”