TEMPE, AZ — The struggle to find affordable housing has been an issue for quite some time now in Arizona as costs have skyrocketed. A newly released Arizona State University report is shedding light on how much people need to make in order to live in the Grand Canyon state.
John Martinez told ABC15 he’s lived in the same apartment complex in downtown Phoenix since 2018. His rent has continually increased since he moved in.
“For the same one bedroom, I used to pay $1,300. Now, I'm paying $2,300 for the same apartment,” Martinez said. He added he understands how expensive it is in downtown, wanting to choose that as Phoenix continues to boom.
A new report from the Morrison Institute for Public Policy with ASU said the price of rent increased nearly 72% from 2010 to 2022.
It says minimum wage workers would need to work 86 hours per week or have more than two full-time jobs, in order to afford a two-bedroom house.
“The cost of renting in 2023 was about $3,000 more than it was to own a home, and that's among renters who tend to make about $33,000 annually less than homeowners. So you are seeing the sort of disparities between the renters and the homeowners,” explained Alison Cook-Davis, the research director for the Morrison Institute for Public Policy and the co-director of the Arizona Research Center for Housing, Equity and Sustainability (ARCHES).
Cook-Davis said fewer homeowners are experiencing cost-burden as some refinanced during the start of the pandemic. However, for people trying to buy a home for the first time, it’s more difficult.
The report says the median sale price of a home increased 57% from April 2019 to April 2023 with the price at more than $423,000. For people of color, the report says they are struggling to buy homes due to lower income.
“It’s not a surprise right that people of color historically have not been able to achieve higher wages,” said Patricia Garcia Duarte, the executive vice president of homeownership initiatives with Chicanos Por La Causa. “When you’re already starting at below an income level, it makes it that much harder to catch up. That’s why we need intervention.”
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Chicanos Por La Causa is a nonprofit that helps on multiple fronts, including helping people find rent or mortgage assistance. Garcia Duarte said the need has been consistent but it hasn’t been as bad as it was during the pandemic.
What’s needed, she feels, is only just beginning to be addressed.
“More intentionality around entry-level housing. More units that are affordable to the workforce. More homeownership product that it’s attainable for the working force, that’s what we need to focus on,” she listed.
Cook-Davis said more policies have been passed in the last two legislative sessions to help with the housing crisis. One includes a law Governor Katie Hobbs signed over the summer, allowing homeowners in Arizona cities to build casitas, or accessory dwelling units, in their backyards.
There are more programs now, too, including another one Chicanos Por La Causa is helping out with. It’s called the Arizona Is Home program done in partnership with the Arizona Department of Housing to help provide assistance for first-time homebuyers. It would include financial assistance in covering a down payment or closing costs.
“Those pieces are likely to sort of help to sort of build up some of the supply whether it's enough. I think we're going to have to wait and find out,” Cook-Davis said.
The 48-page report covered more housing issues within Arizona, including taking a look at homelessness, eviction filings and how heat affects the market. You can take a look at the full report here.
