By Morgan Loew and Cody Lillich | AZ Family
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Institutional real estate investors have turned their attention to the Phoenix housing market. Tenants say the result is rising rent prices, but economists say they’re not so sure investors are to blame.
According to Redfin, more than 30 percent of the homes sold in the Phoenix market in the third quarter of last year were bought by investors. The average rent has risen by roughly 30 percent over the past year.
“People loved living here because it was affordable, versus California. But I think it’s getting to the point where it’s definitely more expensive than what people initially came here for,” said Cassandra Davis, who lives on a fixed military stipend while she attends school. “With that price increase, my stipend doesn’t increase, so my money runs out a little bit quicker,” said Davis.
