Phoenix Topping the List in Inflation (Scottsdale, Chandler: sale, rentals, violent crime)

[Angelino19]

Originally Posted by NearFantastica

The medium price of a home in Phoenix is over 600K and rising fast, a 2 bedroom apartment is over 2K a month and rising fast. Meanwhile LA rents have fallen. If one is able to afford both of these cities, why would they choose Phoenix over Los Angeles?

According to Redfin.com, a real-estate web site, in April 2022 the medium price of a home in Phoenix was $461,000. During that same period the medium price of a home in LA was 1 Million. In April 2022 the average rent price for a 2 BR apartment in Phoenix was $2,086. During that same period the average price for a 2 BR apartment in Los Angeles was $3,915. The prices are high in LA because there's actually a housing shortage. As a result, rents continue to rise and our homeless problem grows.

So despite inflation and rising home and rent prices in Phoenix, for Angelino's Phoenix is still very affordable.

[Angelino19]

Originally Posted by nadnerb

$500K for a 1 bedroom condo right next to an extremely busy airport? I could not imagine the constant noise and smells, not to mention the potential respiratory health concerns compounded by living in a city with very poor air quality. No amount of beach proximity will make that sound enticing.

The air quality is actually very good in LA's beach areas. That's why it's such a draw and also expensive. During the summer months the air quality is poor in inland LA, but the rest of the year it's not bad at all. Having said that, in 2021 the LA region ranked 4th for poor air quality nationally, while Phoenix ranked 8th. Cars contribute to most of our air pollution. I imagine the same is true for Phoenix. More people equals more cars equals more pollution.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by Angelino19

The air quality is actually very good in LA's beach areas. That's why it's such a draw and also expensive. During the summer months the air quality is poor in inland LA, but the rest of the year it's not bad at all. Having said that, in 2021 the LA region ranked 4th for poor air quality nationally, while Phoenix ranked 8th. Cars contribute to most of our air pollution. I imagine the same is true for Phoenix. More people equals more cars equals more pollution.

500k for a one bedroom 850 sq ft. condo and... it's considered a good deal. That's the LA housing market.
The condo has been listed on Zillow for 10 days - 4800 views/168 saves.
Built 1965.
The condo is in a safe area (green) but 2-3 miles away it's crime ridden (deep red.)
https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-90293/

Here's a house on the market that was built 1951 and in the same zip code as the condo. It's roughly the same size as my my E. Mesa home although my lot is bigger.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7...20388960_zpid/

However, the local schools are crap. The public schools in my area aren't great but are certainly better. The flooring in photos appears to be luxury vinyl planks. My flooring is all porcelain tile.
My pool is nicer but their kitchen appears to have been remodeled.

Asking price for home 1.8 million
My Mesa house (guesstimate) 430k-460k

So... if you can afford 1.8 million you'll certainly get much better summer weather if not... Mesa is waiting. (Although my lovely home isn't for sale.)

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by ajonesaz

on 1/1/22 AZ posted the highest minimum wage increase in the Nation and now has among the highest minimum wage in the country. (states, indiviudal city minimums excluded)

Phoenix also had the highest wage growth in the nation 1st quarter 2022.

Add this in with rising rents and housing and you have massive inflation.

Increased property tax revenue better start propping up those teacher salaries. My kids' school has 3 teachers leaving after this year as their salary gets closer and closer to minimum wage.

This is why I was against the minimum wage increase: somebody working at a fast food place for minimum wage automatically receives a salary increase regardless of job performance or skill level. The wages of accountants, office managers, or teachers often remain stagnant, despite those positions requiring a greater amount of education & skills. As soon as the minimum wage law went into effect, I already noticed the higher prices at many restaurants & grocery stores ... and this was in 2017 (several years before COVID, supply chain issues, and massive inflation became realities).

Originally Posted by john3232

So... if you can afford 1.8 million you'll certainly get much better summer weather if not... Mesa is waiting. (Although my lovely home isn't for sale.)

Despite all the claims that L.A. has nicer summer weather, it's only the coastal areas of L.A. which have the weather most of us envy. A good part of L.A. is inland. Downtown L.A. easily reaches the 90s in the summer, and the San Fernando Valley can have many days exceeding 100 degrees. Woodland Hills reached 109 degrees last June & August, and 110 degrees in early September. Not exactly an ideal location for year round climate. Also, southern CA is very prone to flash floods, drought, and fires (even worse than we are in some cases).

[Angelino19]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

This is why I was against the minimum wage increase: somebody working at a fast food place for minimum wage automatically receives a salary increase regardless of job performance or skill level. The wages of accountants, office managers, or teachers often remain stagnant, despite those positions requiring a greater amount of education & skills. As soon as the minimum wage law went into effect, I already noticed the higher prices at many restaurants & grocery stores ... and this was in 2017 (several years before COVID, supply chain issues, and massive inflation became realities).



Despite all the claims that L.A. has nicer summer weather, it's only the coastal areas of L.A. which have the weather most of us envy. A good part of L.A. is inland. Downtown L.A. easily reaches the 90s in the summer, and the San Fernando Valley can have many days exceeding 100 degrees. Woodland Hills reached 109 degrees last June & August, and 110 degrees in early September. Not exactly an ideal location for year round climate. Also, southern CA is very prone to flash floods, drought, and fires (even worse than we are in some cases).

LA gets it's heat waves for sure, but the weather year round is pretty pleasant, even in the San Fernando Valley, which gets a few heat waves every summer. But a heat wave is just that. It comes and it goes. A long heat wave in LA can last 10 days and is news worthy. In Arizona 5 months of 100 plus weather is the norm. Flash floods and fires affect people living in So. Cals hills and foothills. Less than 5% of Southern Californians live in those areas. As for droughts, and our diminishing water supplies, it's no less a problem for us as it is for Arizona.

[john3232]

Talked with a college buddy last night. He and his wife live in the Oakland hills. Their house is worth 1.7 million. My friend now works 100% remote from home. No need to live in Oakland or Cal anymore.

But where to go?

The deals here are long gone but... the Phx metro housing market is beginning to slow down.

I recommended keeping an eye on Tempe. I really like the upscale residential areas.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by Angelino19

LA gets it's heat waves for sure, but the weather year round is pretty pleasant, even in the San Fernando Valley, which gets a few heat waves every summer. But a heat wave is just that. It comes and it goes. A long heat wave in LA can last 10 days and is news worthy. In Arizona 5 months of 100 plus weather is the norm. Flash floods and fires affect people living in So. Cals hills and foothills. Less than 5% of Southern Californians live in those areas. As for droughts, and our diminishing water supplies, it's no less a problem for us as it is for Arizona.

My brother has lived in LA for the past 35 years and my mother spent almost 15 years in San Diego. I agree the weather is generally very nice and a big selling point.

However, my family and friends who live in Cal bought their home 30 or more years ago. Today unless you're earning serious money... forget it. It was reported 26% of those who moved to the Phx metro in 2021 (or was it 2020) were from Southern Cal.

I don't see those numbers stopping anytime soon.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Angelino19

LA gets it's heat waves for sure, but the weather year round is pretty pleasant, even in the San Fernando Valley, which gets a few heat waves every summer. But a heat wave is just that. It comes and it goes. A long heat wave in LA can last 10 days and is news worthy. In Arizona 5 months of 100 plus weather is the norm. Flash floods and fires affect people living in So. Cals hills and foothills. Less than 5% of Southern Californians live in those areas. As for droughts, and our diminishing water supplies, it's no less a problem for us as it is for Arizona.

Here's what you have to remember: California has a very long dry season (roughly April to November). If you miss out on the Pacific storms like this past winter (exception being last December), and the winter prior, there's little hope for rain/snow until the following November or December. Thus, the fire and drought risk increase significantly. When southern CA gets a dry winter, we also get a dry winter, but we at least have a summer monsoon beginning in July and lasting until about mid September. Sometimes it's a NONsoon, but we can count on some decent thundershowers in most years ... especially in the higher elevations where it's really needed.

Also, it's Phoenix and most of southern AZ which have the 100+ temperatures for about 4 months. There are parts of the state which have beautiful summers, and have never reached the century mark. But I'm the first one to say that our 4 months of heat can be very monotonous and hard to deal with. San Fernando Valley may not be as hot as Phoenix, but it still averages much warmer summer temps than the parts of L.A. closer to the coast. I've noticed some distinct temperature differences between LAX and stations like Woodland Hills, Van Nuys, etc.

[SAN_Man]

Originally Posted by john3232

Talked with a college buddy last night. He and his wife live in the Oakland hills. Their house is worth 1.7 million. My friend now works 100% remote from home. No need to live in Oakland or Cal anymore.

But where to go?

The deals here are long gone but... the Phx metro housing market is beginning to slow down.

I recommended keeping an eye on Tempe. I really like the upscale residential areas.

If they sell their Oakland Hills house for $1.7mm, they could purchase a newer/larger million dollar house in Phoenix/Scottsdale cash, and bank the 700k. That seems like a deal to me.

[SAN_Man]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Despite all the claims that L.A. has nicer summer weather, it's only the coastal areas of L.A. which have the weather most of us envy. A good part of L.A. is inland. Downtown L.A. easily reaches the 90s in the summer, and the San Fernando Valley can have many days exceeding 100 degrees. Woodland Hills reached 109 degrees last June & August, and 110 degrees in early September. Not exactly an ideal location for year round climate. Also, southern CA is very prone to flash floods, drought, and fires (even worse than we are in some cases).

The average high for DTLA in August is 84F. Inland Empire and The Valley get warm/hot after July 4th. The temps right now are down right chilly. We've had highs in the low 60s all week, with some drizzle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Los_Angeles