Flagstaff Housing Needs Outstrip Supply

Sakya Calsoyas of KNAU reports on Flagstaff’s housing crisis, which has grown worse in recent years. “The market is squeezed by a growing city population as well as houses locked up by second homes, short-term rentals, and investment companies that price out the local residents.”

According to Calsoyas, “In the last decade, The median home price for Flagstaff more than doubled while the rent went up 66 percent according to Housing and Urban Development Statistics, meanwhile the average income for workers only rose by 37 percent.”

Adriana Fisher, the city’s housing programs manager, says the city is working to create more affordable housing for its residents through a ten-year plan to cut the number of needed housing units in half. “Our goal is to impact 6000 low to moderate income Flagstaff residents through unit creation or subsidy,” Fisher said.

This November, Flagstaff voters will vote on Proposition 442, which would dedicate $20 million to affordable housing and homeownership initiatives in the city.