By Mike Bodeen · 20 December 2021
Disclaimer: I’m not a huge fan of the Arizona Republic! Having stated that, there are two sections of the paper I skim for gems. One is the Sports Section, but admittedly, only when the local teams are doing well. Yes, I do believe that’s called a fair-weather fan. Guilty as charged.
The other is the real estate section when the articles are localized. I appreciate Catherine Reagors’ local reporting. Her sources are excellent, and though Jonathan and I are ahead of her regarding trends in the market, she does a good, and I believe, accurate job of reporting what’s happening in our market.
And if you’re wondering why I don’t just cancel the paper, the answer is simple. I did. 3 months ago. Yet they still deliver it – daily. Perhaps it’s a curse ;-(
Her most recent article I appreciated was yesterday, having to do with the question of rent control in Arizona. It was only a matter of time before this subject was broached in print. I have linked this article here. Hopefully it will pull up for you.
Arizona Republic Article 1
I have also linked another article she wrote in November regarding the need for affordable housing in Arizona. I commend them both to you.
Arizona Republic Article 2
These two articles underline our state’s need for affordable housing. According to the Arizona Department of Housing, Arizona is in need of 270,000 rentals priced at or below our current rental pricing. The article does a good job discussing various governmental efforts to bring affordable housing to our state, and some of the roadblocks to increasing that supply.
I appreciated ASU’s Mark Stapp take on rent control. Mark is the director of ASU’s Master of Real Estate Development program. He states that he’s “not in favor of forcing the private sector to carry the burden of creating affordable housing.” Mr. Stapp then proceeds to discuss the pros and cons of rent control.
An interesting statistic he brought out was that there are 182 municipalities in the country that have rent control regulations. They are ALL located in New York, New Jersey, California, Maryland and Washington D.C. Oregon passed the first statewide rent-control policy in 2019.
The article also states that Arizona has state statutes and the Private Property Rights Protection Act which are legal barriers to rent control. Whether an Arizonan believes that rent control is or is not beneficial, the chances of such a change would be a volatile political issue sure to fire up the masses.
Besides rent control, Catherine brought up other possibilities towards partial affordability solutions which we will look at in coming Snapshots.
And, hot off the presses, is an article today from the Phoenix Business Journal that speaks to one company, facing ever changing regulations in California, has now entered our market to help supply our need for affordable housing. Perhaps our state and local governments could aggressively work with the private sector for creative projects such as this one:
Phoenix Business Journal Article
One thing is for certain; solutions need to be discussed and action taken. There’s no one answer that will solve our problem but continuing to take a number of wise baby steps might be a start.