Valley home prices are expected to increase about 9 percent during 2012, according to Clear Capital's Housing Data Index. 

Cities and towns in the Southwest have long relied on development fees to fund their growth. Now a new law in Arizona restricts how much development money cities can collect, and what they can use that money for.

Arizona's foreclosure rate is up 4 percent from last year November, with one in every 260 homes in some stage of repossession by the bank. One group of people often overlooked in the foreclosure part is renters.

In this economy, an empty warehouse doesn’t do much good -- unless you’re looking for a cheap place to open a business. Entrepreneurs have been shunning traditional retail storefronts in favor of industrial space. As Peter O’Dowd reports from Phoenix, city planners – and even some landlords – aren’t nearly as enthusiastic.

KJZZ's Changing America Desk is looking into the housing boom and bust, and what it will take to recover.