$1B Optima McDowell Mountain Village will break ground in 2023
Optima McDowell Mountain Village, a $1 billion sustainable mixed-use community, will break ground this spring or summer on the southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and the Loop 101 freeway. It’ll feature 1,330 resort-style luxury residences—a mix of condos and apartments—and 36,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. This centrally located development will boast high-end […]
America, the Bland
In 2022, around 420,000 new multifamily units were built in the U.S., and almost all are boxy, wood-frame, mid-rise 5-over-1 structures so homogenous that critics complain it’s “anytown architecture.” But budget constraints and density requirements make it nearly impossible to waver from this formula, which is putting a decent dent in the housing shortage (3.8 […]
Here’s how much housing affordability has dropped in Arizona
According to a national survey that came out in August of 2022, housing affordability in the second quarter of 2022 dropped in all Arizona metro areas, and Phoenix had a dismal showing, with only 22.3 percent of homes sold being affordable to people earning the median family income. Tucson was less affordable, too, with only […]
Gov. Hobbs sounds alarm on west Valley water shortage as developments continue popping up
In Gov. Katie Hobbs’ State of the State speech, she released findings of a report on Arizona’s 100-year water supply, and the news wasn’t great. She raised concerns about groundwater drying up in the West Valley, essentially dousing developers’ hopes for continuing to build in places like Buckeye. However, the development-friendly city that says with […]
Execs offer Mesa stern advice on development plan
Mesa’s Economic Development Advisory Board, made up of business and community leaders, met with Mesa’s new long-range planner, Mary Kopaskie-Brown, on Jan. 3 to weigh in on the general plan. The group wasn’t shy about urging her to not “go against the plan” when it comes to development, meaning the city should “protect” employment areas […]
Matrix Multifamily National Report December 2022
This report forecasts a slowdown in the multifamily sector this year, including a return to a more average rent growth of 3.1 percent after hitting double digits in early 2022. It sees demand softening due to a decline in affordability along with less migration and fewer new households. Also, the 2.9 increase in stock yielding […]
Permanent campers: Rising rents are pushing people to live on public lands
Anecdotal evidence indicates that the number of long-term campers – those living on public lands in tents, vans, RVs and the like – are on the rise. U.S. Forest Service rangers say they’re seeing more trash, and federal law enforcement between January 2020 and November 2022 issued more than 300 citations for camping longer than […]
Reinstating Governor’s Arizona Commission on Homelessness and Housing as Governor’s Interagency and Community Council on Homelessness and Housing
This executive order from Gov. Katie Hobbs revamps the commission dedicated to homelessness issues, setting up a council of 13 or more members that she will appoint. It’ll include the heads of seven state departments, including Arizona Department of Housing, Arizona Department of Health Services and more, as well as at least 10 community members […]
Relentless Rents Leave Few Choices for Americans Relying on Assistance
Although rents aren’t rising as fast as they were last year and are starting to shrink in some markets, the housing shortage is not abating, particularly for those who get Section 8 vouchers. The way the program worked in the past, entire neighborhoods weren’t eligible, so HUD retooled the calculations for “fair market rent” last […]
Arizona has one of the worst homelessness crises in the nation, federal data shows
The number of people in Arizona sleeping on the street, in cars and other places not meant for sleeping increased an eye-popping 23 percent from 2020 to 2022, even though nationally, that number was up less than 1 percent over the same time span. More than 13,000 people are experiencing homelessness now in the state, […]
