Mmm 'maters. 'Granny flats." WFH in OKC. Realtor commissions.

Hey, y'all. How does your garden grow? Surely not at all, yet. The snow and wintry mix on Wednesday was a cold reminder: OKC's average frost-free date is still a little ways off, not until April 10.

It's past time for planning if you're a serious vegetable gardener. If you're just getting started, here's a basic tip sheet I put together, along with some book recommendations, plus a couple of short looks at home storage solutions.

But first: Not in the mood for gardening yet? Here's some encouragement!

Now, some tips.

There was plenty of non-edible, non-storage-related real estate news the past week, too. Let's get to it. Oh, if you don't subscribe to the digital Oklahoman, please consider one of these deals.

OKC planners want to open the door to 'granny flats,' accessory dwelling units, but where?

If Oklahoma City opens the door to so-called granny flats — accessory dwelling units, as secondary housing on single-family lots — they'll start where they're most wanted, and that's in the urban core of OKC.

ADUs, also called in-law suites, casitas or garden cottages, would be introduced basically from NW 63 to SW 59, between Interstate 35 and I-44.

That's according to the Oklahoma City Planning Department, which is wrapping up public presentations and listening sessions related to accessory dwellings before taking the proposal to the city's planning commission and city council in late spring or summer.

Read all about it.

How has work-from-home changed and challenged downtown OKC?

Call it remote work, telecommuting, or work-from-home − or from a beach, mountain cabin, or coffee shop − the trend away from white-collar office settings, which exploded with COVID-19, still haunts local office markets, especially downtown areas, including Oklahoma City's.

OKC started this year with 17.1 million square feet of office space for lease, equal to nearly 10 Devon Towers, and 4.3 million square feet of it empty, equal to about five Leadership Squares, for a vacancy rate of 25.2%, according to brokerage Price Edwards & Co.'s 2023 year-end office market report.

It was about the same as the year before, but OKC had more dark offices than the nation as a whole, the firm reported, with vacancy well above the national rate of 19.6%. Suburban vacancy was slightly less at 24.2%, and downtown was considerably higher at 27.2%.

Read all about it.

Will home prices fall in Oklahoma after national Realtors' commission lawsuit settlement?

Homebuyers, prepare to bargain with your Realtor, not just the seller of the house you want, and get ready to negotiate an agreement before you're even shown a house. Starting in July, if a court approves, that will determine what a buyer's Realtor makes on commission.

Commissions are expected to be less than the usual 5% to 6%, split between the sides in a transaction. It could take a little pressure off rising home prices, although demand drives that, especially with a persistently low supply of homes for sale.

That's because in a recent settlement of federal lawsuits over commissions, the National Association of Realtors has agreed to end its policy requiring that sellers pay buyers' agents through an "offer of compensation" for buyers' Realtors spelled out on their listings.

Read all about it.

More development for Automobile Alley: Offices, retail and hotel planned for key intersection

By The Oklahoman's Steve Lackmeyer.

Pivot Project and Rose Rock Development Partners are teaming up to build a mix of offices, retail, a garage and hotel that will include a future phase of housing at a key intersection between Midtown, Automobile Alley and the Innovation District.

Candace Baitz, president of development at Pivot Project, on Wednesday asked for $4.5 million in tax increment financing loans for infrastructure on the Alley North development, which will be anchored by a $23 million office building to be leased to a corporate headquarters moving downtown.

Read all about it.

What are Oklahoma squatters rights? What can Oklahoma property owners do about squatters?

By The Oklahoman's Jana Hayes.

After a TikTok encouraging immigrants to "invade" vacant American homes to gain possession went viral, the internet refreshed discussion about a medieval concept - squatter's rights.

In Oklahoma, users on Reddit asked similar ownership questions: If someone built a shed on another person's unused family property, could the landowner take action to remove it, or does the builder have ground to stand on?

So what exactly are squatter's rights, and how do they apply in Oklahoma?

Read all about it.

Outparcels, pad sites, remnants, and scrapwood

• From Natural Grocers:Relocation of Oklahoma City-North May Avenue Store on May 2
• From the National Association of Realtors: Gen Z and Millennial Home Buying Hotspots: Where Young Buyers Are Putting Down Roots
• From The Oklahoman: Oklahoma wildfire, smoke map: Track latest wildfires, red flag warnings
• From the city of Oklahoma City:OKC zoning map
• From the city of Oklahoma City: Do I live in OKC?

Finally ...

Here is all of my work for The Oklahoman/Oklahoman.com in one place.

Thanks for reading! What's coming up that I need to know about? What have I missed? Email me at rmize@oklahoman.com.

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Senior Business Writer Richard Mize has covered housing, construction, commercial real estate and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com since 1999