For years, a lot of buyers have approached the market with a pretty simple assumption: if you want a brand-new home, you are going to pay a major premium over an existing one.

That assumption is not completely wrong. New construction is still generally more expensive on a price-per-square-foot basis across the OKC metro. But these two graphs show something important happening right now:

the gap between existing homes and new homes has compressed.

And that matters, because once the spread gets tighter, buyers start comparing the two options very differently.

Start With Existing Homes

Let’s begin with the existing-home side, because this is still where most buyers naturally start.

Based on the last 30 days of MLSOK existing home sales by area, price per square foot looks like this:

• OKC: $154
• Moore: $156
• Norman: $160
• Yukon: $161
• Choctaw: $164
• Mustang: $171
• Newcastle: $171
• Piedmont: $174
• Blanchard: $178
• Edmond: $180

That puts most existing homes in a fairly defined band, with the lower end in OKC and Moore, and the higher end in Edmond, Blanchard, and Piedmont.

The key takeaway here is that existing homes are not “cheap” across the board. In some parts of the metro, the price per foot on an existing home is already pushing into the mid-to-upper $170s, and Edmond is sitting right at $180.

So before buyers even look at new construction, the baseline for existing homes is already higher than many people may assume.

Now Look at New Construction

Shift over to new homes in MLSOK over the last 90 days, and the numbers do move up:

• Newcastle: $170
• Mustang: $173
• Piedmont: $176
• Yukon: $181
• OKC: $189
• Blanchard: $189
• Norman: $191
• Moore: $197
• Choctaw: $201
• Edmond: $215

At first glance, that looks exactly like what people expect: new homes cost more.

And yes, in most areas they do.

But the more important question is not whether they are higher. The more important question is how much higher.

That is where the story gets interesting.

The Gap Has Compressed More Than Many Buyers Realize

In a lot of these markets, the spread between existing homes and new construction is no longer some massive jump.

Here are a few examples:

• Piedmont: existing $174 vs. new $176
• Mustang: existing $171 vs. new $173
• Yukon: existing $161 vs. new $181
• Norman: existing $160 vs. new $191
• Blanchard: existing $178 vs. new $189
• Edmond: existing $180 vs. new $215
• OKC: existing $154 vs. new $189

In some places, like Piedmont and Mustang, the difference is almost shockingly tight. In others, like Edmond and OKC, the premium is more noticeable, but still not necessarily as dramatic as many buyers would expect when they hear the phrase “new construction.”

That is the real takeaway from these graphs: the decision between existing and new is no longer as obvious on price alone.

And These Numbers Still Do Not Count Builder Incentives

This may be the most important part of the conversation.

The new-construction graph shows sticker price per square foot. It does not reflect what many builders are offering right now in order to move inventory or stay competitive.

That can include:

• mortgage rate buydowns
• closing cost assistance
• upgrades
• appliance packages
• other builder-paid incentives

Those things matter because they change the effective cost of the home.

A buyer may look at a new home and think it is clearly more expensive than an existing one, but once you factor in a rate buydown or several thousand dollars in closing costs, that gap can tighten even further.

In some cases, the monthly payment difference may shrink more than the headline price suggests.

What This Means for Buyers

If you are buying in the OKC metro right now, the old shortcut of “existing is the value option, new is the premium option” is getting less reliable.

Existing homes still offer advantages:

• mature neighborhoods
• established landscaping
• potentially larger lots
• location benefits in some parts of town

New homes offer different advantages:

• less deferred maintenance
• modern layouts and finishes
• warranties
• builder incentives that can reduce the true cost

The point is not that new construction is always the better deal. It is that the pricing gap has narrowed enough that buyers should be comparing both more carefully.

Bottom Line

These two graphs show a market shift that buyers should not ignore.

Yes, new construction still tends to be higher on a price-per-square-foot basis. But across much of the OKC metro, the spread between existing and new has tightened considerably. And once builder incentives are layered in, the real-world difference can get even smaller.

That means buyers who rule out new construction too quickly may be missing viable options. And buyers who assume existing homes are automatically the clear bargain may need to run the numbers a little more carefully.

Because in this market, the gap between old and new is no longer nearly as wide as many people think.