Housing Affordability Statistics for Maricopa County, Arizona
Home Affordability Becoming Less Affordable in Maricopa County
Nationwide, there is increased demand for housing, which is pushing up home prices. However, in many countries, average wages are not keeping pace with the rising cost of housing. In Maricopa County, Arizona, ATTOM’s home affordability index shows that homes are becoming less affordable for the average local wage earner.
Latest Housing Affordability Highlights for Maricopa County, Arizona
The housing affordability index provides key points of interest for property investors on a quarterly basis and at the county level. Here are the latest data highlights from ATTOM’s Housing Affordability Index for Maricopa County, Arizona.
Homeownership
It’s a seller’s market in Maricopa County, where low interest rates and work-at-home lifestyles are creating momentum in the local property market.
Prices
Maricopa County shows some of the highest year-over-year home price gains.
Affordability
The housing affordability index shows homes are less affordable than the historical average in Maricopa County, as price gains for housing outpace wage growth.
Map data ©2021 Google, UNEGI
Housing Affordability Index Summary for Maricopa County
Maricopa County, Arizona, encompasses the cities of Phoenix, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Peoria, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, and Sun City. The county has a population of around 4.4 million.
For the average Maricopa County resident, the pressure on home prices, coupled with a slow rise in wages, means that the average local worker cannot afford major expenses on median-priced homes.
With home prices up around the country, Maricopa County also continues to see home prices increase. Gains in Maricopa County are second only to Middlesex County outside Boston. Average wages in Maricopa County are currently around $69,000, having slowly increased from around $40,000 in 2005.
Homeownership is less affordable than historic averages in three-quarters of the nation’s counties, including Maricopa County. The housing affordability index in Maricopa County was 67 in 2006, having peaked at 195 in 2011, and is currently around 67. An index of less than 100 is considered less affordable than the historical average.
ATTOM’s housing affordability index for Maricopa, Arizona, analyzes median home prices derived from publicly recorded sales deed data collected by ATTOM and average wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The housing affordability index is calculated based on the percentage of average wages needed to make a monthly house payment on a median-priced home with a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage and a 3 percent down payment. Average 30-year fixed interest rates from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey are used to calculate the monthly house payments.