Kari Lake Wants to Change Arizona's Housing Market

In Phoenix, the pursuit of affordable housing has morphed from challenge to crisis, propelling the issue to the front of the Arizona U.S. Senate race this year.

Kari Lake, the Republican contender in the swing state, positioned herself as the architect of change for Arizona's beleaguered housing market, promising on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday to tackle high home prices and tight housing inventory that have locked out potential homeowners.

She commented on the situation of a couple living in Arizona, featured in The New York Times, who are employed, yet face housing affordability issues in the greater Phoenix area. "It is now almost impossible to find an affordable home in a safe neighborhood in Phoenix anymore," Lake wrote in her post.

Arizona's housing market, once buoyant, now strains under the weight of its affordability crisis, with Phoenix home prices soaring by 13.8 percent to $455,000 in the past year, according to Redfin. Lake, a Donald Trump supporter, criticized the Biden administration for exacerbating the issues through unchecked government spending and stringent regulations in the state that hinder housing development.

"As your Senator, I will attack out-of-control government spending to bring down inflation & interest rates to pre-Biden levels," the Senate hopeful wrote. "I will also work to remove burdensome regulations that stand in the way of the construction of affordable housing."

Newsweek contacted Lake for a statement through her website on Friday afternoon.

Lake's proposals to curb inflation and stimulate the construction of affordable homes draw a direct line from the frustrations of Arizona's residents to the ballot box, as indicated by how close the race is.

According to a poll by Emerson College/The Hill that was conducted between March 12 to 15, Democratic Representative Ruben Gallego narrowly leads Lake with 51 percent compared to her 49 percent in the state's Senate race. The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Arizona's housing market downturn has become a focal point of Lake's campaign, aiming to address the "fed up" sentiments of Arizona residents grappling with high mortgage rates and the lack of affordable housing.

"Everyone's fed up with where the economy is going," Lake told Newsweek earlier this month. "They're fed up with mortgage rates, inflation, they can't afford anything."

Home sales in the state for February did see a 3.2 percent uptick on a year-over-year basis, but have fallen a sharp 40 percent since mortgage rates were still low back in 2021. John Wake, an independent real-estate analyst, characterized the low amount of home sales as a "real-estate sales recession," on X last month.

The evolving demographic landscape of Arizona, marked by a high influx of new residents, has intensified the already critical housing situation, with more than 74,000 Californians moving to Arizona in 2022, according to the U.S. Census. The state's migration trend, reflecting a broader search for economic opportunity and lower living costs, compounds the pressures on Arizona's housing market.

More young Americans, who see economic opportunities in the booming semiconductor industry or who are seeking lower housing costs as they start families, are moving to the state.

"Arizona's economy is changing with more high-tech jobs," Barbara Norrander, political science professor at the University of Arizona, previously told Newsweek.