Affordable housing is top issue for Arizona voters on all sides

You can probably guess several of the issues that are heavy on the minds of Arizona voters these days – inflation, immigration and abortion frequently rank at the top of their concerns.

But a new poll from Noble Predictive Insights shows that, for the first time in decades, if ever, affordable housing is now a burning issue for voters of all political persuasions.

NOTE: Copy of the poll is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1djtXTYVjPSpxuMZylmN–ORnhFoUMuiU/view

The online poll conducted in May of nearly 2,000 registered and likely voters found affordable housing was the #1 issue among Democrats, the #2 issue among independents and the #3 issue among Republicans. The topic was also top of mind for a wide range of demographics, including rural voters, young voters and Hispanic voters.

Pollster Mike Noble said the rapid rise in housing costs that began in 2020 is driving the increasing interest of Arizonans in affordable housing.

“Inflation has been a core concern for voters for years. Now people are feeling this same crunch on housing prices specifically. Pressure builds up,” Noble said. “If people spend long enough in a house that’s smaller than they want or are stuck in an apartment when they want a house — eventually they’ll start to feel this cost in particular.”

He said neither political party can ignore the issue, as voters worry that the “American Dream” of being able to own a home or move into a higher-end rental community may be out of reach.

The housing crisis has shown signs of easing since the state faced a shortfall of about 100,000 units in 2020. Construction has ramped up, and state and local governments have been working to incentivize more of it.

This year, Gov. Katie Hobbs signed four bills with bipartisan support in the Arizona Legislature focused on making housing construction quicker and more affordable. The Arizona Multihousing Association and other stakeholders were instrumental in the effort of two bills designed to reduce the entertainment process and incentivise redevelopment or adaptive reuse of existing commercial buildings.  .

Candidates of all parties should pay attention and make affordable housing part of their talking points, Noble said.

“Housing is a great issue because it’s unclaimed. Neither party has clearly won on this issue,” Noble said. “I would advise politicians to constantly message-test, craft and refine their position and trumpet their wins, if they have them, because this is up for grabs.”