The Arizona Employer Map Viewer provided by Maricopa Association of Governments shows there are 620 employers in Prescott Valley representing over 13,180 employees. Key industries include aerospace, finance, and healthcare. Top employers in Prescott Valley include Dignity Health YRMC, MI Windows & Doors Inc, and Ace Hardware.
The industries of these three employers, healthcare and construction, continued to grow in 2023 although the number of housing units approved saw a decline in 2023, says AZEconomy.org.
While there is no doubt that the growing town of Prescott Valley is becoming increasingly economically prosperous, there is one major problem that poses a major threat to our economy.
What key component of our community poses a major threat to our economic prosperity?
AZHousingForAll.com calculates that multifamily housing alone in Arizona contributes nearly $67 billion to the local economy each year – including nearly $7 billion in tax revenue and 383,000 jobs across the state.
According to the Arizona Department of Housing, 250,000 housing units will need to be built statewide to keep up with current demand. Arizona will need 17,000 new apartments statewide to keep up with our growing population. The Arizona housing market has been unable to build new housing quickly enough to keep up with this growing demand resulting in the rising cost of housing state-wide.
Dr. Anthony Torres, President and CEO of Yavapai Regional Medical Center states, “Insufficient attainable housing is affecting every business – large and small, private, public or family-owned. It will compromise our healthcare system, tourism, economic development efforts, school systems and government services as we work to recruit talent who need attainable housing.”
Given all of this information, there is no doubt that Arizona and the U.S. are facing a housing supply crisis—yes that’s right, even our community.
What threat does the housing supply crisis pose to our local economy?
When families are forced to spend more on housing, they have less funds to contribute toward our economy. That is if they can even afford to locate in our local community. The alternative—living in a nearby community with more affordable housing and commuting to Prescott Valley. This provides little benefit to our local economy as these employees then live, shop, and contribute to the economy of another community.
Rosen Consulting Group, a leading independent real estate economics consulting firm, found in a recent study titled Housing is Critical Infrastructure: Social and Economic Benefits of Building More Housing that, “Increasing and preserving the supply of affordable housing—especially in areas connected to good schools, well-paying jobs, health care and transportation—will help more families climb the economic ladder and help communities meet their workforce needs.”
How do we solve the housing supply crisis?
Our communities simply need to build more homes at every price point to increase housing availability and supply, according to the AZ Multi-housing Association. Building more homes and apartments is the quickest and most efficient way to lowering rents and mortgages for area residents.
Fain Signature Group has a project in the works attempting to solve this dire housing need. The Lakeshore650 project aims to provide houses at a diverse range of pricepoints to meet the industry demand for every income level. The project also includes an attainable housing component. See more at Lakeshore650.com.
