Why It’s So Expensive to Live in Phoenix

[Voebe]

And as it gets expensive, more sprawl, for one thing.


Why It’s So Expensive to Live in Phoenix
Since 2010, the number of rental properties available for $1,000 or less in greater Phoenix has declined 86%, according to the Maricopa Association of Governments, a regional planning agency. The number of homes selling for $300,000 or less dropped 73%.
Those sorts of properties “used to be the majority of our market,” said Amy St. Peter, the agency’s deputy executive director. “They are virtually nonexistent now.”

https://news.yahoo.com/why-expensive...173834893.html

[Valley Native]

https://www.rent.com/research/averag...argest-cities/

Part of life in a big city, but if you look at the above list, Phoenix is still pretty reasonable in comparison to NYC, Chicago, L.A., San Diego, or San Jose. Every city that ranked in the top 10 most populous had average rent prices exceeding $1,000. Inflation has affected rentals & home prices all over the nation. It's not anything unique here.

[BOS2IAD]

When an area experiences exponential growth, it drives up rent costs as well as home prices.

[My2cents55]

Its from all the out of state investors primarily California buying up cheap decerped properties putting some lipstick on them and charging twice the rent. My experience.

[TurcoLoco]

Could the simple fact that things have gotten more expensive everywhere be the reason?

Originally Posted by My2cents55

Its from all the out of state investors primarily California buying up cheap decerped properties putting some lipstick on them and charging twice the rent. My experience.

It is easy to blame the transplants but the fact is, they do not determine the market value of the properties nor the rent rates. If they were coming up with rent rates on their own with no justification, they wouldn't be able to rent, would they?

[sder]

It’s getting to be like California here but with all the cons & none of the benefits.

[TurcoLoco]

Originally Posted by sder

It’s getting to be like California here but with all the cons & none of the benefits.

Cons such as?

The only thing I am baffled with is some of the services or products are seemingly much more than they should be. What I mean is, the two factors that typically affect the cost of everything rapidly and also on a more long term are cost of fuel and cost of commercial and residential property.

On an average, both of them are about half as much as what they are in CA so why services and products cost just as much as what they cost in So Cal is a mystery to me. If a restaurant is paying half as much (if not less) for rent, why the food a comparable or same restaurant in Phoenix charges the same?

Most any of the home service work rates are just as much as well, like electrician, AC repair, landscape services, dentist, etc. Some of the stuff is actually even more. At Fry's they have signs that proudly show produce grown in Arizona yet the prices of the same stuff is like 20%-30% less in So Cal, plus the lower rent, etc. Why those super market items cost so much more here especially when they are locally grown?

But when you look up the sites where they calculate COL in Phoenix compared to CA, most corporate jobs salaries are lowered by (at least) 10%-15% due to -supposedly- lower COL here.

Overall, COL has gotten higher just about everywhere but the price gaps between more expensive and less expensive states seem to be getting smaller for some reason.

[Potential_Landlord]

There is def a structural change going on in Phoenix. It used to be that we almost only had class C or D cheap apartments because ”everyone rents cheaply for a few years max and then buy a SFH”. Now we have a lot of class A apartments and BTR properties because apparently there is a market for permanent renters here who can afford high rents. I still think that area will be the center of the next (much milder than 2008) RE crisis here due to overbuilding. Plus, we do not build enough SFH in Phoenix period, 12 years (!) after the RE price bottom. Home builders are very conservative. There is no spec building. Compare this to 12 years after the 1991 price bottom (= 2003) when spec building was rampant. There is no supply... we are way underhoused. Also think about the fairly big immigration wave AND internal migration towards Phoenix.

[moguldreamer]

Originally Posted by Voebe

And as it gets expensive, more sprawl, for one thing.


Why It’s So Expensive to Live in Phoenix
Since 2010, the number of rental properties available for $1,000 or less in greater Phoenix has declined 86%, according to the Maricopa Association of Governments, a regional planning agency. The number of homes selling for $300,000 or less dropped 73%.
Those sorts of properties “used to be the majority of our market,” said Amy St. Peter, the agency’s deputy executive director. “They are virtually nonexistent now.”

https://news.yahoo.com/why-expensive...173834893.html

The above is not the answer to the question "why it's so expensive to live in Phoenix." The above is just a re-statement of the issue.

[sder]

Originally Posted by TurcoLoco

Cons such as?

The only thing I am baffled with is some of the services or products are seemingly much more than they should be. What I mean is, the two factors that typically affect the cost of everything rapidly and also on a more long term are cost of fuel and cost of commercial and residential property.

On an average, both of them are about half as much as what they are in CA so why services and products cost just as much as what they cost in So Cal is a mystery to me. If a restaurant is paying half as much (if not less) for rent, why the food a comparable or same restaurant in Phoenix charges the same?

Most any of the home service work rates are just as much as well, like electrician, AC repair, landscape services, dentist, etc. Some of the stuff is actually even more. At Fry's they have signs that proudly show produce grown in Arizona yet the prices of the same stuff is like 20%-30% less in So Cal, plus the lower rent, etc. Why those super market items cost so much more here especially when they are locally grown?

But when you look up the sites where they calculate COL in Phoenix compared to CA, most corporate jobs salaries are lowered by (at least) 10%-15% due to -supposedly- lower COL here.

Overall, COL has gotten higher just about everywhere but the price gaps between more expensive and less expensive states seem to be getting smaller for some reason.

Are you saying living in CA has no cons? Expensive gas, expensive housing, expensive everything. We have that here now but with none of the benefits like being by the ocean and beaches, hotter than hell summer climate.