1 big thing: Lawmaker could consider dueling housing bills
Now that the Arizona Senate shot down SB 1117, which would’ve taken legitimate steps toward solving the housing crisis, the League of Cities and Towns has come up with a proposal featuring a “menu” of options for municipalities of 75,000 or more to choose from. Those include allowing higher density near commercial centers; allowing duplexes, […]
Apartment starts up 24%, posting ‘unexpectedly strong month’
Across the nation, 957,000 apartments are being built—the highest number since November 1973. Apartment starts were up 9.8 percent, and single-family housing starts were up 1.1 percent in February. That said, continuously climbing interest rates and recent banking volatility will dampen growth moving forward. Source: https://www.multifamilydive.com/news/multifamily_starts_apartment_construction_interest_rates_banking_crisis/645477/
Maricopa County eviction filings hit record in February, but average per capita
Although eviction filings in Maricopa County are at their highest level in 20 years by sheer numbers, this story correctly reports that when population growth is taken into account, the filings are pretty average. February 2023 saw 5,280 filings—the highest of any February since 2000, but per capita, it ranks tenth out of 23 years. […]
Multifamily Plays the Rent Growth Waiting Game
Steep rent increases during the pandemic made multifamily an attractive short game, but now, due to slow rent growth and rising interest rates, it’s time to remember the sector is truly a long game. While 23 out of 30 top metros had negative rent growth over the past three months, it’s not historically unusual for […]
Multifamily Loses Some Shine Under Harsh Light of Reality
Low interest rates and booming demand since the pandemic led to a building frenzy over the past couple of years, but not to worry. Multifamily has been a “safe haven asset class” for 15 years, particularly because it’s considered a hedge against inflation and fulfills an essential need—housing. With development reaching its highest rate since […]
City seeks developer for Food City site
Tempe released an RFP for redevelopment on eight acres in the Apache Corridor, hoping to transform it into a hub of retail and affordable housing. The Apache Central project seeks a developer for 400 units of mixed-income multifamily housing of up to five stories, with at least half prices for low- to moderate-income residents, and […]
Apartment Rents Surge As Vacation Rentals Reduce Supply for Tenants
The nation has more than 600,000 homes listed as short-term rentals, which has coincided with the rise in apartment rents. This is causing many cities to believe correlation is causation, and now they’re regulating in earnest because they believe vacation rentals are suppressing needed long-term housing supply. However, this doesn’t take into account the fact […]
Apartments to be first phase of Christown shopping center redevelopment in Phoenix
First on the list of a developer’s plan to reinvigorate the ailing Christown Spectrum Shopping Center is housing. Kimco Realty, the owner, submitted plans for a 760-unit apartment complex on parking lots and the former Costco Auto Center. The entire redevelopment will take two decades or more, during which many retailers with long-term leases will […]
The Daily Agenda: Housing crisis to continue
The best hope for solving Arizona’s housing crisis, SB 1117, was voted down in the Senate after the powerful interest group of The League of Cities and Towns and its members “brought the full force of its bill-killing machine down” upon the bill. As all the articles about the bill note, it aims to increase […]
Sweeping bill to address Arizona’s housing crisis shot down
SB 1117, which aimed to help alleviate the housing crisis, was denied by Arizona’s senate on a vote of 9-20. It would’ve boosted the state’s housing supply—which is deficient by 270,000 units—by disallowing cities’ exclusionary zoning laws, speeding up review and approvals, allowing more housing on smaller lots, and more. The League of Cities and […]
