PHOENIX — As mortgage rates go up and the cost of housing continues to rise, a Valley economist is sounding the alarm on the need for more housing.
Elliott Pollack, CEO of the economic and real estate consulting firm Elliott D. Pollack and Company, says the valley needs at least 25,000 more single-family homes on the market and about 18,000 more apartments.
He says new numbers from the Housing Opportunity Index show Phoenix homes are more expensive than the average in the U.S. and that doesn't even account for high-interest rates.
Pollack says it's a matter of supply and demand and as supply goes up, prices will go back down.
"Build more units. Build more single-family homes. Build more build-for-rent and build more apartments," Pollack said. "We are short of housing. We have not kept up with demand and we haven't kept up with demand now for 10 years and it's critical."
Pollack's data shows occupations like teachers, firefighters, construction workers, and retail workers are priced out of most homes and apartments throughout the Valley.
