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BY Janya Sundarlong read Over the past five years, single-family home prices have risen roughly 54% nationally. This is pushing property tax bills higher for homeowners, as local governments often fail to offset these increased valuations with reduced tax rates. Meanwhile, rising office vacancies due to ongoing remote work trends have led to declines in some commercial property values, placing added pressure on residential properties to sustain revenue for local budgets.
Currently 76% of Americans believe housing affordability is a growing problem. This past Tuesday, voters across nine states weighed in on housing-related measures. The following provides a summary of statewide housing measures, how they fared, and what their outcomes could mean for our future housing landscape.
Subscribe to the Compass Newsletter. Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you daily Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters Arizona Statewide Proposition 312 passed with 58.4% of the vote.
The measure allows people to seek property tax refunds if they incur expenses because local governments fail to enforce laws against illegal camping, loitering, panhandling, public urination, and similar issues. Prop 312 was on the ballot after a homeless encampment in downtown Phoenix, known as "The Zone," was cleaned up by the city following a court order with a November 2023 deadline. At its peak, The Zone had an encampment that consisted of about 1,000 unhoused people.
Last Tuesday, on October 29, the nonprofit group Keys to Change counted 140 individuals. The measure was designed by the Goldwater Institute, a conservative and libertarian public policy think tank based in Phoenix. "The reform garnered a large coalition of support from residents, property owners, and business owners who have been hurt not only by their government's failure to enforce the law, but by the government's proclivity for shunting homeless people into unofficial open-air shelters like "The Zone" in Phoenix,".
.. Janya Sundar.
