Is the Autumn Supply Shift Starting Early?
Is the autumn shift toward increasing numbers of homes for sale in Phoenix starting early this year? We'll know in a few weeks.
Strong Phoenix Economy
“Phoenix continues to outrank the rest of the nation in industrial construction with nearly 40 million square feet of space underway by the end of June"
- KTAR
The "Easy" Way to Get More Housing Supply
Legalizing ADUs would be nice but would only add a tiny bit to supply. Try fair property taxes and see what happens to the supply of homes.
The 15-acre field in Glendale on the left paid $564 in property taxes in 2023.
The house on the right paid $2,936 in property taxes in 2023.
If the land owner paid the same tax rate on the fair market value of the land that home owner paid on the fair market value of the house, I'm going to guess such land owners would be MUCH more likely to build on the land and supply would increase.
But when property taxes are so low and land values are increasing, there's no hurry to develop the land. Landbanking.
You Can Make Your Home a LOT Safer from Wildfires
On Saturday, I went to a memorial in Payson for the firefighters who died in the Dude Fire in 1990. My friend Bobbie Scopa was there in 1990 and gave me a tour of where and how it all happened. I worked on Forest Service and BLM fire crews during the summers when I went to ASU so it was intense for me.
"The Center for Insurance Policy and Research found that structural modifications can reduce wildfire risk up to 40%, and structural and vegetation modifications combined can reduce wildfire risk up to 75%." - Los Angeles Times
There's a LOT home owners can do to reduce their risk of wildfires, and when they do, they also reduce the risk of their neighbors' homes burning down.
Insurance companies should be FAR more active in reducing the cost of home owners insurance for homes that meet fire safety standards.
Open Primary Initiative Makes the General Election Ballot
I’m a fan of this initiative.
News story here.
Click on the graphs to go to the full-size, interactive versions.
Notice how very small changes in New Listings and Solds eventually cause HUGE changes in the number of houses For Sale and house Prices (see graph above).
This information can vary a lot in different parts of metro Phoenix. Your real estate agent can find the data for your specific city or zip code at The Cromford Report.