{"id":9966,"date":"2021-04-26T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T16:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=9966"},"modified":"2021-04-26T07:00:50","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T14:00:50","slug":"who-are-all-these-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=9966","title":{"rendered":"WHO ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Suzanne Sparrow Watson<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Those of us who have lived in Arizona for any length of time have noticed a recent trend – there are a LOT of people moving here<\/strong>.\u00a0 Usually we have an uptick in population from January through April, as “snowbirds” leave the wintry climes of Chicago and Minneapolis to soak up a little sunshine.\u00a0 In addition to the weather, we offer exotic car auctions, the Phoenix Open golf tournament, Arabian horse shows and Spring Training games.\u00a0 So, we’re used to snarled traffic and impossible restaurant reservations during those months.\u00a0 But this year?\u00a0 Holy smokes…the traffic congestion started last summer<\/strong> and has only gotten worse.\u00a0 Trips to the grocery store that used to take 10 minutes now take 15, and once we’re in the store, the line at the bakery now snakes all the way back to the vegetable section, which somehow seems just plain wrong.\u00a0 In our small community we’ve seen firsthand the effect of the influx.\u00a0 In the first quarter of 2020 we had 9 home sales; this year we had 9 closings just in the month of January<\/strong>, and 38 total for the quarter.<\/p>\n

COVID, of course, accounts for much of the movement into Arizona.\u00a0 First, many of the recent transplants stated that the lockdown caused them to re-assess their priorities<\/strong> and retire earlier than planned.\u00a0 Second, once people were able to work from home, they concluded that their home could be anywhere, so why live in an expensive, high-tax state?\u00a0 According to the University of Arizona’s Eller School of Business, more than 60% of the immigrants to Arizona<\/strong> are coming from California, followed closely by Washington and Illinois.\u00a0 Notice a trend?\u00a0 Third, our job market is booming, with many Fortune 500 companies relocating here due to our lower tax rates and abundant workforce.<\/strong> As a consequence of the population boom, housing prices in Arizona have already increased 8% in 2021.\u00a0 Each Sunday the Arizona Republic newspaper publishes the top five homes sales, based on price.\u00a0 Up until this year, the most expensive home was usually $2-3 million, with the other four somewhere between $1-1.5 million.\u00a0 Now, the top five are all $4-5 million.\u00a0 If you buy a million dollar home you are apparently living somewhere near the poverty line<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The downside of all this, other than the traffic, is that it’s become harder for people to buy entry-level homes<\/strong> and next to impossible to find a rental home.\u00a0 Affordable apartments are also hard to come by now.\u00a0 Young couples are moving farther and farther away from metro Phoenix, or moving out of state, in order to afford the lifestyle they assumed they would have in Arizona.\u00a0 And the housing market is not the only commodity benefiting from recent transplants –\u00a0 expensive cars are selling like hotcakes.\u00a0 Someone asked me recently if there had been a fire sale on Bentley’s<\/strong>, because they are now ubiquitous.\u00a0 One of the luxury car dealers noted that people moving from California can sell their home there, buy a bigger one here, and still have plenty left over for a $200,000 car.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>So in an effort to slow the population growth, here is my countervailing list for anyone thinking of moving here:<\/p>\n