Latest news with #LeagueofArizonaCitiesandTowns
Axios
10-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Arizona sees drop in institutional homebuyers
Institutional investors bought 6.9% of homes sold in Arizona in the first quarter of 2025, an 11% decrease from one year earlier, according to real estate data firm ATTOM. Why it matters: Investors, who often compete with first-time buyers, have pulled back from the U.S. housing market in recent years. By the numbers: In the Phoenix metro area, institutional investors bought 7.5% of houses in the first quarter of 2025, compared with 8.2% in the same stretch last year. The Arizona city with the largest share of houses bought by individual investors in the first quarter was Yuma, at 10%. That's a 22% jump from the same period last year. Tucson's rate dropped by 23%, to 5.7% of houses sold. The big picture: Nationally, the total number of home sales to institutional investors in Q1 fell to its lowest rate since 2020 — mirroring a broader slowdown in the residential real estate market — even as their share of total sales ticked up to 6.3% from 6.1% in the previous quarter, per ATTOM. Alabama's share was highest at 10.9%, while Maine's was lowest at 2.7%, among states with enough data. Catch up quick: Corporate homebuyers have been a contentious issue in Arizona as the state grapples with a housing shortage that's driven up prices. The League of Arizona Cities and Towns responded to this year's failed starter homes legislation with a counterproposal that would put limits on sales to investors. Gov. Katie Hobbs proposed starter homes legislation to limit the percentage of the new homes that could be sold to investors. In an op-ed in the Arizona Republic last year, Democratic state lawmakers Juan Mendez and Oscar De Los Santos argued that "price-gouging middlemen" keep houses out of would-be owners' hands, charge exorbitant rents and convert homes into short-term rentals. Between the lines: Investors want to see strong population and job growth, solid rental yields, landlord-friendly regulations, affordability, and long-term appreciation potential, ATTOM CEO Rob Barber previously told Axios.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill requiring public bathrooms for the homeless dies in the Arizona Senate
A homeless encampment built inside of a west Phoenix alley seen in the early morning of Jan. 28, 2020. The people staying in the alley declined to answer Point-In-Time survey questions. Photo by Madeline Ackley | Arizona Mirror Republicans and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns killed a bill Thursday that would have required cities, towns and counties to provide 24/7 access to bathrooms and water to help in the ongoing homelessness crisis. Senate Bill 1185 by Sen. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, would have required that municipalities and counties provide and maintain 24-hour access to public restrooms and potable water for use by the homeless. 'We can and should do better,' Ortiz said to the Senate Government Committee on Thursday, citing the drastic increase the state has seen in heat-related deaths, largely among the homeless, as one of the reasons for the measure. Constituents also approached her about homeless individuals who have been found to be using alleyways and residents' yards to relieve themselves. However, municipalities and Republicans argued that the bill's language was too broad and would result in cities being forced to keep all their restrooms open 24/7. Ortiz said she'd be willing to amend the bill to clarify, but Republicans instead voted the measure down. 'I agree with the concerns. We don't do a good job and we need to do better,' Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa, said when explaining his no vote. 'I think the solution will take more than an amendment.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Local homelessness advocates came out to support the measure, saying that it would be beneficial to not just the homeless but myriad other individuals, such as pregnant women, those with certain disabilities and average citizens who may just desperately need a restroom. 'It is not just unsheltered folks who benefit from public restrooms broadly,' Stacey Champion, a local activist who has worked with the homeless community in Phoenix, said to lawmakers. 'This state is really lacking in public amenities, such as water refill stations and public bathrooms, and this is something I'm shocked about when I travel and come home and not really see a lot of that.' However, the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, which represents municipalities across the state, said it strongly disagreed with the bill. Marshall Pimentel, one of the organization's lobbyists, said the bill created 'serious operational challenges and unintended consequences,' adding that, as it was written, municipalities would have to make libraries, courtrooms and more have 24/7 bathroom access. 'There are a lot of unsavory things that happen in the wee hours,' Pimentel said, echoing concerns by Republican lawmakers that the bathrooms would become crime zones that would require additional staffing. Sen. Lauren Kuby, a Tempe Democrat and former Tempe city council member, disagreed with Pimentel and her Republican colleagues. In Tempe, she said, public parks could easily have their public restrooms be open 24/7, reducing the need for an employee to lock up the restrooms each night. 'It should not be a privilege to pee. It is a human right,' Kuby said. 'I'm sad we won't be passing this today.' Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, the committee's chairman and the leader of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus, said he found it to be a 'cold day in hell' because he agreed with the League of Arizona Cities and Towns on the issue. 'I hear the bill sponsor's intent that wasn't what she meant, but under the way this is drafted, bathrooms in the mayor's office, judges quarters… it pulls them all in,' Hoffman said, adding that 'the costs on this seem to be incalculable.' Both Hoffman and Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said they worried that the bill would lead to 'encampments' at these restrooms and it would preempt municipalities from enacting any changes as it lists homelessness as a matter of 'statewide concern.' Arizona has seen a year-over-year increase in its unhoused population since 2017. The number of people experiencing homelessness in the state is at levels the state has not seen since the late 2000s, when the country was grappling with the Great Recession. In the years since 2017, the state, local municipalities and counties have used different tactics to address homelessness, with varying degrees of success. Homelessness in Arizona increased by 21% from 2020 to 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The increase has led the federal government to give additional aid to Phoenix. 'This bill isn't intended to solve homelessness,' Ortiz said, criticizing cities and towns for opposing the bill. 'Now you have cities here saying, 'Please don't make us do the bare minimum.'' Bishop Anthony Holt said he understood the concerns about crime, but urged lawmakers to try to put themselves in the shoes of those who are unhoused. 'Let's not act like this is not a problem,' Holt said. 'But if you have never faced this problem, it doesn't mean anything to you.' Others advocates shared stories of homeless individuals who chose to soil themselves instead of using an alley or other public area due to the shame they felt. 'All we are talking about is common decency and access to public facilities,' Holt said. The bill failed to make it out of committee with all Republicans present voting no on the measure. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
