This is a summary of an article that appeared in the Arizona Republic, which you can read in full here.
Rentals in the Phoenix metro area are affordable by big-city standards but rose 5.6 percent in the past year, reports Zillow.
Median rents in the Phoenix metro area climbed 5.6 percent over the past year, according to the Zillow Rent Index. That was more than the 3.3-percent average hike in the 35 large cities surveyed. Phoenix rent increases also are above the U.S. inflation rate, rising 0.8 % in 2014. Rents in the Phoenix metro area average $1,225 a month compared to $1,350 for the large-city average tracked by Zillow. Zillow said personal incomes aren't keeping up with rental demand. "Since 2000, rents have grown roughly twice as fast as wages," said Zillow's chief economist, Stan Humphries, in a statement. Many current renters are prospective homebuyers in the future, yet "rising and increasingly unaffordable rents make it difficult to save for a downpayment on a home," he said. More apartments and other new rentals coming on market will help ease the affordability crunch, but that won't happen overnight, Humphries said.
