Arizona still doesn't have nearly enough affordable housing
Once again, Arizona’s shortage of affordable housing ranks among the most severe in the nation. The National Low Income Housing Coalition's annual analysis of affordable rental homes shows for every 100 extremely low income renters in Arizona, there are just 26 units available.
"The United States has a systemic shortage of millions of rental homes affordable and available to the lowest-income renters, a shortage that forces such renters to endure the most severe housing cost burdens," the report's authors write.
The report says nowhere in the U.S. has an adequate supply of affordable housing, but only California and Nevada have more severe shortages than Arizona.
Arizona needs at least 143,000 more rental units for extremely low income people to cover the gap. But the report points out new construction tends to target higher income renters and labor and material shortages are continuing to drive prices up.
"The pandemic exacerbated an existing housing crisis for the lowest-income renters and exposed the inadequacy of the federal housing safety net," the report says. "Waning pandemic-related supports and rising inflation present emerging challenges."
