The State of the Arizona Economy

Sarah Kirsch Richardson

Tru Realty

If you all haven’t subscribed to Elliot Pollack’s Monday Morning Quarterback, then stop reading this right now and subscribe. If anyone has the crystal ball on the Arizona economy, it’s Elliot. Listening to him speak is always a treat if you can get a ticket for the room. In my article, I’ll share some of his insight with my own to discuss the Market conditions and the continual progress we are seeing in the overall Arizona economy.

Arizona seems to be thriving better than most of the states in the union. According to Elliot’s philosophy, the growth is due primarily to the stimulus from tax cuts, changes in tax law and overall regulation. These regulations are changing the way businesses are spending money and most importantly, placing money back in the hands of the hard-working people of Arizona. Personal income continues to increase and has increased more than five percent in the last twelve months, which is much faster than the rest of the country.

Maricopa county has been the fastest growing county for the entirety of 2018, with an average of 220 people moving to the Valley of the Sun daily. With income increases come increasing housing prices throughout the Greater Phoenix Metro Area. Pricing increased 7.5 percent annually in July of 2018.

With the Arizona economy thriving, we are seeing a wealth effect within the area. People typically spend more overall when one of two things is true: when people actually are richer, objectively, or when people perceive themselves to be richer. An example of this might be when the assessed value of their home increases or a stock they own goes up in price and their portfolio is seeing larger gains.

In addition, the Greater Phoenix Metro Area is overall very young. The median age is 35.4 years old with an extremely competitive workforce in regard to training, quality and availability of workers. Further, per the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Phoenix is reporting some of the lowest costs for labor in the Nation and the projected employment growth over the next decade is expected to be upwards of 18 percent, compared to the national average of 10 percent. Lastly, Phoenix offers a skilled, diverse workforce that is continuously fueled by globally recognized universities and community colleges. These institutions prepare highly qualified graduates for in-demand disciplines within established and emerging industries.

Arizona State University, Maricopa Community Colleges, Grand Canyon University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona are among the more than 40 universities and other institutions of higher learning that prepare the region’s workforce.

Even with the volatility of the stock market these days, it seems that as long as the Sun is shining, we’re expected to finish strong in 2018, giving us a solid start to 2019.