A NerdWallet.com ranking of the best places in Arizona for homeownership listed Maricopa and San Tan Valley in the top two spots.
However, Michael Orr of the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University disagrees with the study’s findings.
According to the study, the average Maricopa homeowner spends 28.9 percent of house- hold income on housing costs, based on a median monthly income of $5,382. In San Tan Valley, it’s 29.3 percent with a median monthly income of $4,883.
Meanwhile, homeowners in 15th-ranked Florence spend 35 percent of the $3,760 they earn a month on housing costs. In Casa Grande, people spend an aver- age of 37 percent of their $3,793 monthly income on housing.
“When you look at whether you can afford to live there, you look at the cost of the housing and not the affordability for the people who already live there,” Orr said. “It’s the affordability to you that’s the most important. For example, if you compare Casa Grande and Maricopa, according to this study Casa Grande is cheaper than Maricopa, but the average person in Casa Grande is going to earn a lot less than the person in Maricopa. That doesn’t mean that Maricopa is more affordable, it’s because the people who live there earn more.”
The NerdWallet study failed to take into account that many residents of Maricopa work in the Phoenix metro area, Orr said.
“There’s massive movement from one county to the other and back again at night,” Orr said. “The economy in a particular city in Pinal is not isolated. You need to know the robustness of the overall economy and not within the city.”
The study also put an emphasis on population growth, which made up 33.3 percent of the total score. According to the study, Maricopa saw a 19.6 percent population increase from recovery isn’t in jeopardy.
“It might slow things down a little bit because some people were optimistic of how quick new home construction might take off,” Orr said. “I’m not seeing the demand for new homes being what some of the developers would like.”
Orr said the market has shifted, resulting in an abnormal and a significant advantage for buyers.
“Most sellers don’t realize that and they still think the market is in their favor,” Orr said. “Sellers tend to be optimistic of what they can sell the house for, 2010 to 2012 while San Tan Valley saw a population increase of 20.9 percent in that time.
“That’s where people are living. So it definitely gives us a better detailed look in the area,” Clark said.
While Orr may disagree with the formula used in the Nerd- Wallet study, he agrees with its assessment that Arizona is on the road to recovery and will continue to be a destination for newcomers.
