Arizona’s housing shortage could become even more severe as the state’s population continues to grow. That’s one finding of a first-of-its-kind report on the state of housing in Arizona from the Arizona Research Center for Housing Equity and Sustainability.
Researchers from Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy and the University of Arizona’s Drachman Institute found Arizona rents prices jumped 72% from 2010 to 2022. The rise in costs was more significant in Arizona than in neighboring states, and the report’s authors say a supply and demand imbalance was largely to blame.
Increasing rent prices have contributed to rising rates of eviction and homelessness, said Alison Cook-Davis, one of the report’s authors.
“The worst case scenario, the ultimate consequence of unaffordable housing is experiencing homelessness,” Cook-Davis said.
While housing supply is increasing, the report says construction is not keeping pace with Arizona’s booming population.
“By projections it could grow from 7.7 million to between 9 and 12 million by 2060, so that’s a lot of growth to potentially put additional pressure on the housing market,” Cook-Davis said.
The report notes several cities and the state legislature in the last few years have enacted new policies aimed at boosting housing supply.
“There is definitely interest and desire to address this problem head-on,” Cook-Davis said.
But Cook-Davis said it’s too soon to know how much impact those policies might have on rising costs.
