13 March 20th-March 26th, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Can’t Buy? Bye Bye. 1 in 4 people thinking of leaving Arizona over housing costs. BY TJ L’HEUREUX E xploding housing costs are stressing Arizonans out, and according to a poll released on March 4, many are thinking about getting out of Dodge. In a survey of 1,006 registered voters in the state conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, 28% said they “have seriously considered leaving Arizona due to housing prices.” The survey also shows that 40% of respondents ranked afford- able housing among their top three concerns. Only 13% said housing in Arizona is affordable. Per the poll, which was conducted from Feb. 11-13, the most likely demographics to leave the state due to housing costs are: • People ages 19-44 (39%) • Hispanic/Latinos (38%) • People born and raised in Arizona (35%) “Over the past four years, home prices have jumped 40%, and rents have increased 50-70% in some areas,” state Rep. Sarah Liguori told Phoenix New Times. “Meanwhile wages have lagged, and those on fixed income have been hit the hardest. More and more people state- wide are paying over a third of their income on rent.” A March 2024 study from Arizona State University found it takes a salary of $123,752 to afford the median home price in Phoenix — out of reach for lots of middle-class workers like nurses, teachers, police offi- cers, firefighters and construction workers. Since then, rent has increased substantially in at least eight major cities across the state. Liguori, who is co-chair of the Arizona Legislature’s bipartisan housing and homelessness caucus, also noted that Maricopa County saw a record-breaking number of evictions last year. A perfect storm How did it get so bad? Liguori rattled off a number of factors: high migration rates, low housing stock, investors buying homes, the abundance of short-term rentals, the high costs of land and materials, and an abundance of regulations. “At its core, this comes down to an economic imbalance,” she said. “Housing supply can’t keep up with demand, and wages aren’t rising fast enough to match housing costs.” Most experts agree that there is simply not enough housing in the state. According to a report from Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute, the state is short 270,000 units. Nolan Williams, president and founder of the affordable housing advocacy group Tempe YIMBY, said Arizona’s job and population growth, plus its relative afford- ability compared to cities on the coasts, draws more than 300 new residents to the state each day. Housing construction has not kept up. “That’s equivalent to a new downtown high rise every couple days,” Williams said. “But we are not building a new downtown high-rise every couple of days.” Building more units often isn’t easy for developers. Former state Sen. Anna Hernandez, who will assume a seat on the Phoenix City Council next month, said “unnecessary zoning regulations” are an impediment to building more units. More nefarious forces drive prices up, too. A year ago, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes launched a lawsuit against several major apartment landlords — who collectively own 70% of rentals in the Valley and 50% in Tucson — for allegedly using algorithmic software to price gouge renters. On March 11, Mayes sent a Nearly 30% of poll respondents said housing is too expensive in Arizona and they’re considering leaving the state because of it. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) >> p 16 | NEWS |
