For the second quarter of 2021 apartment rents in the Phoenix metro area have risen 17%, which is the highest increase of any city in the nation.
Additionally, the vacancy rate in our market area is at an historic low of 3.6%, which effectively means most apartment communities are effectively full.
Is it any wonder that apartment construction seems to be happening everywhere? More and more large companies are moving facilities and employees to Phoenix and people are moving here in droves from the failed state of California.
The truth is however, that current construction is not keeping up with this increased population demand. More, not fewer apartment projects are going to be needed to support the continued projected population growth.
Unfortunately, angry citizens are fighting new apartment projects throughout the Valley.
Gilbert for instance has a troublesome zoning case at Morrison Ranch that has gotten so nasty that there have been calls for the mayor to resign over her support. Bowing to social media pressure, she in turn has publicly stated that she will no longer support any new apartment zonings in her city.
In Scottsdale, things have gotten even nastier with several new council members and a new mayor dedicated to stopping growth in general and new apartments in particular. They use the excuse that they are only reacting to the voter’s wishes.
Forget leadership, forget doing what is right for those less fortunate and minorities who cannot afford a large home in north Scottsdale. NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) politics are opposing every new apartment project that is proposed in Scottsdale. The opposition always sites traffic and height as the major factor for their not wanting a new project.
This flawed reasoning is used in lieu of any actual facts as those opposed are generally acting on emotion and fear and not logic.
The sad fact is that many who oppose new apartment projects are really saying is that they don’t want “those kind of people” in their neighborhood, implying that apartment dwellers somehow spike crime and thus lower property values, in spite of the reality that most of us have at one time ourselves lived in an apartment.
Apartments are a critical part of the overall housing story. Not everyone can afford a single-family home, therefore apartments provide the only decent alternative.
As someone who has been in the development business in Scottsdale since the 1970s I find it especially amusing that most of the opposition (to include several city council members) live in neighborhoods that no one wanted then they were first proposed.
Scottsdale social media sites have recently taken up the cause of some elderly residents in Scottsdale being intentionally forced to move over rent increases.
They wonder where the humanity is on the part of the owner.
What the NIMBY’s fail to comprehend is that their vitriolic opposition to new apartments are the primary reason rents are increasing. Economics 101 states that if you limit supply when demand is high, prices naturally increase. If you want rents to drop then increase supply! It is that simple.
Editor’s Note: Larry Kush is a former 6-year Scottsdale planning commissioner and a 45-year Scottsdale resident.
