Across the Valley, cranes are busy, and new apartment buildings keep popping up, but a fresh Georgetown analysis says Phoenix’s building boom is mostly leaving its lowest-income renters on the sidelines. The study finds that the bulk of new units are filling up with higher earners, while households at the bottom of the income ladder are still staring down rising rents and shrinking options. That reality pokes a big hole in the simple “just build more” argument and puts the spotlight back on which policies might actually help the city’s most rent-burdened residents.
New Units Tilt Toward Higher Earners, Study Finds
The Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality dug into American Housing Survey data for six fast-growing metros and found that newer rentals are typically smaller units in large buildings that are disproportionately occupied by moderate- and higher-income households. The same analysis shows Phoenix with the highest vacancy rate among apartments built since 2010 – about 9.4 percent – a sign that what is being built is not lining up with demand for lower-cost homes, according to the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality.
Local Expert: Supply Alone Is Not Fixing Affordability
Lelaine Bigelow, executive director of Georgetown’s Center on Poverty and Inequality, told KJZZ’s The Show that “low-income renters continue to face rising rents and fewer options” in Phoenix even as new buildings open their doors. Bigelow and the report argue that without targeted tools such as vouchers, preserving older affordable stock, and income-restricted development, market-rate construction on its own is not reaching the renters who need relief the most.
Phoenix Has Been Building, But Deep Affordability Lags
The city has been aggressive about adding homes through its Housing Phoenix Plan, reporting more than 48,000 units created or preserved as of September 2024, with roughly 22 percent set aside as affordable. Officials have also loosened rules for accessory dwelling units, plus updated parking and zoning standards to speed projects. So far, though, those moves have tended to produce workforce and market-rate housing rather than deeply affordable homes, according to the City of Phoenix Housing Department.
What The Report Says Needs To Happen Next
The Georgetown authors call for a toolkit that goes beyond unsubsidized construction: expand rental assistance and Housing Choice Vouchers, preserve income-restricted units that are nearing the end of their affordability periods, and support social-housing or mixed-income public development, along with incentives for a wider mix of housing types. The report also warns that “missing-middle” strategies or basic deregulation can help in some places, but without targeted subsidies and tenant protections, they often miss the lowest-income renters, according to the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality…