inBusiness Greater Phoenix
Commercial Real Estate & Development | Cover Story | February 2025
by RaeAnne Marsh
Metro Phoenix is the No. 3 housing market in the United States, according to Greg Vogel, founder and CEO of Land Advisors Organization, who cites data from the U.S. Census Bureau showing single-family and multifamily permits totaled 45,000 for the 12 months through September 2024.
Says Laura Ortiz, president of Evergreen Devco, “Demand, from a national perspective, continues to be hitting cycle highs; however, deliveries are still outpacing absorption.” Speaking of Phoenix specifically, she notes, “Phoenix is absorbing its supply, but still not quickly enough to maintain or grow occupancy rates or rents.” As this article was being developed, she shared that, in the Phoenix metropolitan statistical area, 2024 was tracking to be the most active year for new deliveries since the mid-1980s. “At this point in time, it does feel like we’re getting close to being able to pinpoint when supply and demand will be back to equilibrium.”
Currently, Metro Phoenix has 3.7 months of inventory (compared with 2.1 months in 2019), whereas the national figure is 2.9 months, according to Ali Wolf, chief economist for Zonda, the largest new home construction data company in North America.
Dan Richards, partner and co-founder of Greenlight Communities — a leader in providing attainable housing for renters with a range of incomes — credits the business-friendly environment as a factor in Phoenix’s continued strength in housing development. “However,” he adds, “like everywhere, developers face hurdles, including rising material costs, labor shortages and challenges in finding available land” — factors addressed separately in this article. “Meeting demand while keeping housing affordable requires careful planning and innovative solutions,” he observes.