Arizona Housing Affordability Update June 2023

This overview of the housing crisis in Arizona is particularly interesting for its breakdown of housing starts and a chart outlining housing shortages since 2020 by county. Obviously, the populous Maricopa County has the biggest shortfall in sheer numbers, with 42,251 new homes needed. But surprisingly, Apache, Mojave, Navajo, Pinal, Yavapai and Yuma counties have a greater deficit by percentage. The article states, “In 2022 and in response to rising borrowing costs and falling housing demand, Arizona’s housing deficit decreased significantly to 74,236 units from over 98,000 units in 2021 (-24.4%) after the pandemic and massive in-migration.” In order to meet the growing demand, the state must add over 63,000 housing units each year to close the gap in five years, which probably won’t happen, no thanks to a lack of impetus to relax zoning and speed permitting.

Source: https://commonsenseinstituteaz.org/arizona-housing-affordability-update-june-2023/