Last week we wrote about Arizona’s home prices being low, and it made it seem like the housing industry in Arizona is in shambles. Truthfully, it’s been a tough environment, but it seems like it’s on the cusp of having the opportunity to break out of the doldrums.
Why? Because even though the unemployment rate is relatively high, sitting at 9.6%, that’s only .1% higher than the national unemployment rate, and most of the other states that have unemployment rates around that figure are recovering. And it seems the federal government, which back a couple of months ago gave the state $125 million for housing relief, decided to bypass the state with its next round of relief because it was believed the unemployment rate wasn’t sufficient enough to warrant giving the state anymore money at the present time.
Of course, there are drastic differences throughout the state as it pertains to both unemployment and housing. Whereas the Phoenix area has unemployment around 9%, Yuma has an unemployment rate around 26%, and has had a very high percentage of foreclosures. Therefore, it’s possible that Arizona will get a piece of a third round of federal money that’s specifically for the unemployed to try to keep their homes, as that money will be concentrated on areas with the highest unemployment figures in the country.
For the rest of the state, though, maybe as unemployment continues to fall the housing industry will follow.
See also
Sierra Point at Canyon Trails
Arizona Single Story homes for sale
Mitch writes on real estate, finance, and many other things.