The metro Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area is one of the metro areas where new-home construction is lagging. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, this may lead to a shortage of new housing stock. NAR measured the ratio of new-home construction to the number of newly employed workers in 146 metro areas over from 2012 to 2014. Home building activity under-performed in about two-thirds of those metro areas tracked. Although the rate of construction has accelerated in the past 2 years, the ratio of single-family permits to employment is still below average for most of those cities. The question is whether this lower rate of home building is actually the new normal.
