While this space is usually dedicated to sharing ways the Arizona Department of Housing is working to address some of Arizona’s most pressing housing issues, I wanted to use my space in this edition to take the opportunity to pass along some welcomed news concerning some positive developments in Arizona’s private sector housing market.

• According to a recent story by National Mortgage News, and based on data available on Zillow, Phoenix is currently the third top market for first time homebuyers in the nation.

• A number of homebuilders doing business in the state are introducing new single family products in the high $100K to high $200K range. According to a recent article in the Phoenix Business Journal, Meritage Homes, Pulte, Toll Brothers, and other builders are realizing that some of the strongest demand for new housing is in the first time buyer segment and are introducing homes for those buyers.

• Homebuilders are not only increasing their housing starts in the metro areas but are also building in rural markets such as Florence and other Pinal County areas, in communities south of Tucson, and in several towns in Yavapai County.

• Move up buyers can celebrate that active listings between $200K-$500K in the greater Phoenix area have increased more than 20%, with the MLS supply being the highest it’s been in about five years.

• According to LendingTree, Arizona’s average mortgage rate ranks 14^th place in national affordability at 4.81%.

• Arizona had the fourth largest increase in total jobs and ranked third among states for growth in total labor force size during 2018.

• Arizona’s median household income rose 4.8 percent, more than double the national growth rate of 1.8 percent between 2016 and 2017; in the last five years it grew by 21.5 percent, well above the U.S. average of 12.5 percent.

• From 2016-2017, more than 88,000 people lifted themselves out of poverty in Arizona, an 8 percent decrease compared to 3.8 nationwide.

During the Great Recession, construction trades in Arizona suffered tremendous declines, but today there are more than 10,000 vacant construction trade positions in the state, which means there are immediate job openings in some of the state’s most highly paid trade professions. The average wage for construction trades in Arizona is $46,000 per year.

• Kudos to the Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation for taking a lead in rebuilding Arizona’s construction workforce by working with the industry to establish a Construction Workforce Collaborative. Made up of commercial and residential contractors and subcontractors, the collaborative is focusing on attracting opportunity for individuals who wish to launch a career with growth potential. Their focus on strengthening the construction workforce pipeline is multi-layered, by introducing a career awareness campaign called Build Your Future Arizona, through educational alignment, and providing opportunities to earn and learn. Information on the effort is available by sending an email to [email protected].

• The Homebuilder’s Association of Central Arizona (HBACA) continues with its program at Lewis Prison’s Eagle Point Second Chance Center where inmates readying themselves for release are learning trades at that facility. Through that program, HBACA has placed over 200 ex-offenders into jobs upon exit from prison. They are continually working to engage more construction related employers who are willing to provide job training support at the prison, with a goal toward hiring trainees upon release. Interested parties can contact the HBACA at 602-274-6545.

Housing is a market-driven industry, as it should be. Government cannot and should not address every housing issue that effects the housing market. It is especially pleasing when you see the market begin to adjust to meet housing demand. We are all better off as a society when people are adequately housed.

Carol Ditmore, Director

Housing Matters | Spring 2019