Should there be rent control in Phoenix? (sale, real estate)

[My2cents55]

As most know there is a big housing crisis in Phoenix well all over the country really. Phoenix used to be a nice big city you could rely on for affordable housing not anymore.

10 years ago I could get a two-bedroom for $700 a month plus utilities and it was very affordable now you gotta work 2 jobs and have a roommate.

I've had to move several times over the past 3 years because of the crazy rent the last place I was paying 1050 for a two-bedroom when my lease was up they wanted to raise my rent by $450 dollars with taxes and everything over $1500 now mind you this wasn't a nice apartment complex it was in a crap area and the complex itself was 50 years old run-down they excused the price hike of some lackluster renovations lipstick on a pig on the exterior and adding a washer and dryer to the units.

I decided I wasn't gonna pay that and was able to move someplace more affordable. I know rent control is a very controversial topic and I know we have various landlords on here who will push back on the idea but I think there should be at least a cap per year of no more than 20 or 30 percent.

I've seen various proposals such as repealing the taxes that the landlords pay but how would that lower rents and what would compel the landlords to pass on the savings to the renters?

The rent prices are just horrendous no wonder we have a huge homeless problem in this city. Just my 3 cents.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by Goofball86

As most know there is a big housing crisis in Phoenix well all over the country really. Phoenix used to be a nice big city you could rely on for affordable housing not anymore.

10 years ago I could get a two-bedroom for $700 a month plus utilities and it was very affordable now you gotta work 2 jobs and have a roommate.

I've had to move several times over the past 3 years because of the crazy rent the last place I was paying 1050 for a two-bedroom when my lease was up they wanted to raise my rent by $450 dollars with taxes and everything over $1500 now mind you this wasn't a nice apartment complex it was in a crap area and the complex itself was 50 years old run-down they excused the price hike of some lackluster renovations lipstick on a pig on the exterior and adding a washer and dryer to the units.

I decided I wasn't gonna pay that and was able to move someplace more affordable. I know rent control is a very controversial topic and I know we have various landlords on here who will push back on the idea but I think there should be at least a cap per year of no more than 20 or 30 percent.

I've seen various proposals such as repealing the taxes that the landlords pay but how would that lower rents and what would compel the landlords to pass on the savings to the renters?

The rent prices are just horrendous no wonder we have a huge homeless problem in this city. Just my 3 cents.

Bought my first investment property in SF in 1996 and sold it in 2019. I experienced first-hand being a landlord in a city were renters rule the roost and landlords were the enemy. I won't go through that again.

If rent control is implemented across AZ and/or I cannot remove a tenant who breaks their lease without a court battle... I will sell.

Humm...
Landlords want the Supreme Court to overturn NY’s rent reg laws. What happens next?
https://gothamist.com/news/landlords...t-happens-next

Originally Posted by Goofball86

...I've had to move several times over the past 3 years because of the crazy rent the last place I was paying 1050 for a two-bedroom when my lease was up they wanted to raise my rent by $450 dollars with taxes and everything over $1500 now mind you this wasn't a nice apartment complex it was in a crap area and the complex itself was 50 years old run-down they excused the price hike of some lackluster renovations lipstick on a pig on the exterior and adding a washer and dryer to the units.

You might not think it worth $1500 but someone did. Supply and demand dictates rents. Not the landlord.

[asufan]

No.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Goofball86

As most know there is a big housing crisis in Phoenix well all over the country really. Phoenix used to be a nice big city you could rely on for affordable housing not anymore.

This housing market was under valued for a long time, resulting in prices that were actually too cheap. Rental costs have dramatically increased over the last few years for several reasons, but one of the factors has been the increased demand. Several years ago, there was a report that said Phoenix will need 150,000 new apartments by 2030 to keep up with the growth & demand. Add what the COVID kneejerk reaction did to the labor market & availability of materials, and that caused prices to increase further.

Originally Posted by Goofball86

10 years ago I could get a two-bedroom for $700 a month plus utilities and it was very affordable now you gotta work 2 jobs and have a roommate.

I've had to move several times over the past 3 years because of the crazy rent the last place I was paying 1050 for a two-bedroom when my lease was up they wanted to raise my rent by $450 dollars with taxes and everything over $1500 now mind you this wasn't a nice apartment complex it was in a crap area and the complex itself was 50 years old run-down they excused the price hike of some lackluster renovations lipstick on a pig on the exterior and adding a washer and dryer to the units.

One foot in the hole, one foot getting deeper (song lyrics from the '90s), which describes your situation. The "affordable" time many years ago would have been a good opportunity to purchase a place of your own to avoid all the hassles with apartment living. Renting has a way of making a person's financial situation even more difficult, and you're actually losing money by continuing down this path. Rent control amounts to more government interference, which actually can backfire if landlords won't make any improvements, and causing already crappy places to become even crappier.

[My2cents55]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

This housing market was under valued for a long time, resulting in prices that were actually too cheap. Rental costs have dramatically increased over the last few years for several reasons, but one of the factors has been the increased demand. Several years ago, there was a report that said Phoenix will need 150,000 new apartments by 2030 to keep up with the growth & demand. Add what the COVID kneejerk reaction did to the labor market & availability of materials, and that caused prices to increase further.



One foot in the hole, one foot getting deeper (song lyrics from the '90s), which describes your situation. The "affordable" time many years ago would have been a good opportunity to purchase a place of your own to avoid all the hassles with apartment living. Renting has a way of making a person's financial situation even more difficult, and you're actually losing money by continuing down this path. Rent control amounts to more government interference, which actually can backfire if landlords won't make any improvements, and causing already crappy places to become even crappier.

I wanna eventually get out of apartment living. I've been looking into manufactured homes mostly in the East Valley.

Phoenix is becoming too congested and overpriced.

[exit2lef]

No thanks to rent control, which infringes on property rights and doesn't address the core issue: insufficient housing supply to meet demand.

Instead, I'd like to see the following:

Abolishing the rental tax after giving cities and towns sufficient time to find alternative revenue sources. Shelter is as fundamental as food and shouldn't be taxed.

Elimination of minumum parking requirements, especially in areas served by light rail. Requiring large amounts of parking for every project, regardless of tenant need, drives up prices for everyone. Let market forces dictate how much parking is built.

Relaxation of single family zoning. Too much of the city is limited to one type of housing. That doesn't mean apartment towers everywhere, but in areas where apartments are not appropriate, it can mean more opportunity for homeowners to realize the full value of their investment by converting unused space into accessory dwelling units.

[Hschlick84]

Nope. Get rid of all residential zoning laws and increase supply by threefold.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

There were over 15,000 new apartments projected in the pipeline https://azbigmedia.com/real-estate/m...20construction.. 8000 will be delivered this year alone. 10 years ago, the PHX metro was coming out of a MASSIVE real estate downturn. Back then, I'd consider someone was "stealing" a two-bedroom for $700 / month.

No one is happy about how expensive it has gotten. Ten years ago, I paid $4/square foot for pavers including installation. Now they are $9/square foot. I paid $1.75/pound for boneless chicken breasts on sale 10 years ago. Now it's $2.75. A decent bottle of wine at Costco was $13. Now it's $20-25. I can go on and on.

Certainly, PHX housing has skyrocketed. One reason was ultra-cheap money. The other reason for the sharp price rise is analogous to gentrifying: wealthier people are coming here to get out of their poorly managed states as well as higher-paid jobs are arriving. So people are bidding everything up.

I think how you frame a problem is key. Option 1 is rent control. Option 2 is to make more money (smarter not harder). And certainly, some people will be left in the dust. I refuse to look in the mirror and toss in the towel. I'd be asking myself how can I transition to find a gig that pays double or triple. But that means going into the trades and hustling. Asking the government to put in rent control won't solve any problems. That's how you destroy the motivation of people by getting the government involved in "fixing" economic problems. After all, how do you think we got high inflation? Psst: Government meddling. If the Op gets his wish, expect many of the 15,000 new pending apartments to bail on this area (as they should). I mean, why not propose another government check to help pay for rent? What could go wrong??

[DAXhound]

Ten years ago, you could have bought a condo dirt cheap and you didn't. Choices...

[Ponderosa]

One of the axioms of economics is that the cure for high prices is high prices. Look around at all the apartment building activity in Phoenix right now. It is in response to high rents. Rent control will just guarantee a shortage and that is something that is completely at odds with and will stifle the growth potential of this area.