By Jakob Thorington | Arizona Capitol Times
Housing permits issued in Arizona are at the lowest annual pace since 2019, but prices are continuing to sit at just under half a million dollars.
The number of both single-family and multi-family building permits approved has dropped over the past year, according to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s October fiscal highlights report.
The report’s latest numbers track a 12-month rolling total through August. From August 2024 to August 2025, there were 36,455 single-family building permits issued in the state, which is nearly a 12% decrease from the previous August’s 12-month total.
Multi-family building permits have had an even greater drop off in the same time period, at over 30%, with 14,582 multi-family permits issued.
And while building appears to be slowing, home prices have remained about the same for nearly three years.
The median sale price of a home in Arizona in September was $447,000, according to the real estate brokerage Redfin. That price is slightly higher than September 2024’s median sale price of $441,000 and a 7% increase from September 2022’s median sale price of $431,000.
“Prices are too high. Development is slowing and we do have a policy tool for fixing that and that policy tool is the zoning and permitting requirements,” said Glenn Farley, director of policy and research at the Common Sense Institute.
The U.S. Census Bureau does not have updated permit data through September due to the federal government shutdown. The bureau’s August 2024 report listed 7,771 more total units to date than its August 2025 report, also showing a decline in housing permits issued.
The Common Sense Institute also concluded the number of housing permits issued in the state is on the decline, tracking a 12% decrease of permits issued in 2025 from the previous year in its Sept. 18 housing report.
At an estimated pace of just under 52,000 total housing unit permits for the year, Common Sense Institute’s report notes that would be the slowest pace of annual housing permits approved in the state since 2019.
Farley said the state’s current pace is still higher than it was following the Great Recession up to the COVID pandemic, which resulted in an accelerated pace of housing permits issued.
Read more (subscriber content)
Some stories may only appear as partial reprints because of publisher restrictions.
Related:
Phoenix Approves Backyard Guest Houses, Bans Them as Short-Term Rentals – KJZZ
Survey: Only 8% of New ADUs in California Are Short-Term Rentals – UC Berkeley Terner Center