When you become an elected official—or, in my case, an appointed one—the first question you're always asked is, What are your policy priorities? When I took office in 2021, my top priority was affordable housing. With a background in development and commercial brokerage, I became increasingly concerned during the post-recession years as most new housing projects being built were luxury units or large single-family homes.* My worry deepened as I saw unsheltered populations surge in cities like Los Angeles, fearing that Phoenix might face similar challenges. A chilling statistic showed that between 2019 and 2022, the ability to afford a home in Phoenix dropped from 65% to 18%, while in Los Angeles, it fell from 11% to 2%.** Right now, you need over $62,000 in income in order to afford a two-bedroom unit in Phoenix. This is pushing our teachers to live farther from their schools, putting a strain on businesses retaining employees, and is estimated to have an adverse economic impact of $36.5B to our state.***
At its simplistic core, our current crisis—marked by near nonexistent housing affordability and a 30% increase in the unsheltered population the past three years—is due to a severe lack of housing, with demand for housing outpacing supply for the past seven years. As Gregg Colburn illustrates in his book Homelessness Is a Housing Problem, it's like a game of musical chairs: when there aren't enough chairs, or enough houses, prices skyrocket, and people are left without a place to live. At presentations I give, I draw the comparison of housing to the spike in egg prices that occurred during the pandemic, when 40 million egg laying hens had to be killed because of an outbreak of avian flu. During this time, shelves were bare and eggs went for as much as $12/dozen. Currently, Arizona has the second highest supply gap in the country, with an estimated deficit of 134,000 low income housing units. A shortage in this particular income area means a major piece of the safety net that keeps people off the streets is missing.****
In recent years, I have advocated for comprehensive action to tackle our affordability challenges. A lack of clear direction and concentration of efforts means missed opportunities to stem the spread of housing insecurity and homelessness. Right now, shelters have housing wait lists that exceed 5,000, and they are only able to rehouse 1 person for every 2 seeking shelter. However, I am starting to feel a shift in momentum and a glimmer of hope as public awareness is translating into tangible progress.
With years of groundwork laid by talented and tireless advocates, I see support growing strong within our communities, with bipartisan policy wins in housing reform in Arizona and across the country, and with financial resources being deployed in large amounts to help build housing and increase services to our most vulnerable populations. In August, the following were the wins that brought me optimism:
Housing on the local level.
Four housing bills signed by Governor Hobbs that allow the development of middle housing (duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes), building of additional dwelling units (casitas, ADUs), and facilitate the reuse of defunct commercial buildings to be redeveloped as housing. The Housing Trust fund received $15M in the budget. Mobile home park residents ability to install air conditioning in their units.
Conferences with housing focuses like the Arizona Department of Housing “Homecoming”, the Morrison Institute Policy Retreat, and the upcoming Lincoln Land Institute’s I’m HOME (Innovations in Manufactured Homes) conference.
Broad coalition building on multiple fronts toward multiple solutions. Some examples are: increased bipartisanship at the legislature, deepening relationships between state and city officials, non-profits, and business groups, faith leaders coalition building, deploying creative financing mechanisms, and unlocking land for redevelopment.
A decrease in rental rates as more units were completed last year, which increased vacancy rates, bringing much needed financial relief to residents and a bit of balance to the market.
Housing on the national level.
President Biden created what is being called the “boldest housing plan in a generation” that addresses multiple solutions including limiting rent increase and building more housing, lowering costs of homebuying with a $10,000 first time buyer tax credit, and bringing financial relief by reforming land use policies and creating new funding streams.
Kamala Harris has outlined her presidential economic plan to reduce barriers to build more homes, on top of the goal of building 3 million homes, provide $25,000 assistance to first time homebuyers, and provide a $4B financial carrot to local jurisdictions that remove zoning regulations that prohibit the construction of new homes. (All the hyperlinks are good reads if you have the time!)
Last week YIMBYs (Yes In My Backyard) for Harris raised more than $130,000 and brought pro-housing speakers like MD Governor Wes Moore, CO Governor Jared Polis, SF Mayor London Breed, CA Senator Scott Weiner, US Representative Maxwell Frost (FL), and dozens of other elected officials, economists, and leaders together, including Senator Anna Hernandez, Representative Analise Ortiz and me.
Opportunities for making significant progress in housing affordability are within reach, but achieving them will continue to require hard work and patience, as transformative change often does. A few of my future housing priorities will be centered around the following solutions:
Ensuring the continuation of our state’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. This is the main vehicle of producing affordable housing units, particularly in rural areas.
Reoccurring funding streams to our Housing Trust Fund.
Incentivizing mixed income projects, developments on school and church property, increasing density, and smaller lot building. And doing these things in a way that minimizes gentrification and keeps people in their homes.
Improving wages so that the cost of living catches up to the cost of housing.
Creating new, creative, public/private funding streams to build affordable housing. Capitalizing on the crossover funds coming from the Inflation Reduction Act that developers can use to incorporate water and energy sustainability in their projects.
Continuing to educate on housing solutions and working together to build on our broad coalition of housing advocates.
Limiting the power of out of state institutional buyers and better regulations for short term rentals.
And finally, what you can do.
Supporting projects and new neighbors in your area.
Advocating for pro-housing policies at your local planning commissions, city council meetings, and the legislature.
Backing pro-housing elected officials and decision-makers.
Taking a few minutes to understand the truth behind common affordable housing myths - Myth Busting: Affordable Housing.
With your help, we can bring relief to this statewide crisis and foster a more inclusive housing environment.
With kindness,
Sarah
*Why? Cost of building and zoning. Highs in construction labor, supplies, and land have squeezed margins while 78% of Arizona land is zoned for single-family homes.
** Elliott Pollack housing data.
***Jim Rounds consulting data.
**** Morrison Institute/ARCHES 2024 Housing Report
