Arizona’s affordable housing shortage is primarily the result of years of underbuilding after the Great Recession, not the rise of short-term rental (STR) platforms like Airbnb, according to a new report from the Common Sense Institute.
The report, titled “Home Prices, the Great Recession, and the Sharing Economy: Evidence from Arizona and Airbnb,” found that Arizona homebuilders sharply reduced construction following the 2008 housing crash and never returned to pre-recession levels, even as population growth resumed. Permit activity in Arizona fell from nearly 90,000 annual authorizations in 2005 to just 12,600 in 2010. By 2019, the state was still authorizing only about 45,000 new housing units per year, roughly half its pre-recession pace.
According to CSI, Arizona built roughly 38,000 fewer housing units per year between 2008 and 2023 than would have been needed to keep pace with long-term historical trends. Researchers concluded that this persistent gap in construction created a housing deficit that continues to drive up prices across the state.
Before the housing crash, Arizona was building at a rapid pace:
• ~400,000 homes built from 2003–2007 After the Great Recession, construction slowed significantly: • ~211,000 homes built from 2010–2019
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) April 16, 2026
While Airbnb and similar platforms have drawn criticism for reducing housing supply, the report found that short-term rentals account for only a small share of Arizona’s housing stock and are concentrated in tourism-heavy markets rather than spread evenly across the state. According to the Arizona Association of Realtors, CSI found “no observable statistical relationship” between the growth of short-term rentals and rising home prices across most Arizona communities.
Then the pandemic hit an already tight housing market. Demand surged as more people looked to move or buy, but supply had not caught up.
• Home prices increased by over 64% from 2019 to 2022
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) April 16, 2026
The institute stated that under a new analysis examining “the underlying causes of Arizona’s housing shortage and the role of the short-term rental market,” it found “no consistent statistical relationship between short-term rental growth and home price appreciation across Arizona communities.”
CSI further observed that short-term rentals represent less than 2% of Arizona’s 3.3 million housing units and that, statewide over ten years, “there is no — and sometimes even a negative — relationship between home price increases and the concentration of STRs.”
The report notes that Arizona’s housing market never fully recovered from the collapse of the mid-2000s housing boom. Phoenix-area home values fell by more than 50 percent during the recession, foreclosures surged, and builders dramatically slowed new construction. Although Arizona’s economy and population later rebounded, homebuilding lagged far behind demand.
CSI estimated that as of the second quarter of 2025, Arizona faced an immediate housing shortage of roughly 52,800 units statewide. Using a broader, long-term measure, the organization estimated that the state’s housing supply was short by more than 121,000 units at the time. Maricopa County alone is projected to have a deficit of more than 34,700 homes.
Housing affordability remains a major issue for Arizona families. CSI estimates the average home in Arizona now costs more than $426,000, approximately $53,000 more than it would have if home prices had continued along their pre-pandemic trend. The organization estimates Arizona households now need an annual income of about $95,800 to afford the average home under conventional mortgage guidelines, or roughly 92% of the state’s average household income.
The analysis also finds no consistent statistical relationship between short-term rental growth and home price increases across communities.
The bigger driver is a long-term supply shortage — years in the making, before STRs became a major part of the conversation.
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) April 16, 2026
“Arizona’s housing challenge is fundamentally a supply issue,” Glenn Farley, Director of Policy and Research at Common Sense Institute, said in a statement. “Homebuilding slowed dramatically after the Great Recession and has struggled to catch back up, even as Arizona continued adding people and jobs. The data consistently show that when housing production falls behind demand, whether because of permitting constraints, construction slowdowns, or long-term underbuilding, prices rise. Expanding housing supply will be essential to improving affordability across the state.”
When we launched the American Conservative Values ETF (ACVF), we did it with an important mission in mind: to give voice to the millions of Americans who are sick and tired of watching their retirement dollars fund woke liberal corporate activism. That mission brought us face to face with a troubling trend: major U.S. companies using their platforms not to grow shareholder value, but to push divisive political agendas. One of the worst offenders is Airbnb.
That’s why, through First Amendment legal powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom, we’ve filed a lawsuit against Airbnb. The lawsuit says Airbnb violated federal securities law and illegally excluded our shareholder proposal(s) from its 2025 proxy statement. Our proposal was simple.
We wanted Airbnb to explain the risks to its business from denying or restricting service to users based on their religion, political status, or Airbnb’s expansive speech codes. Instead of playing fair and following the law, we believe Airbnb broke the rules to shut us out. Here is a link to the lawsuit.
We believe Airbnb ignored SEC Rule 14a-8, which requires companies to notify shareholders within 14 days if they plan to exclude a proposal and give them an opportunity to challenge that decision. Airbnb didn’t do that. They just silently buried our proposal because it didn’t fit their politics.
Let me be blunt; This is what corporate viewpoint discrimination looks like in 2025. And we’re not going to let it stand.
We believe in free markets and free speech. As institutional investors, we believe that companies, especially publicly traded ones, should be focused on delivering value to their shareholders, not playing political referee. But Airbnb has turned itself into a culture war weapon. And now they’re shutting the door on shareholders who dare to question that approach.
We firmly believe that Airbnb’s behavior isn’t just wrong. It’s illegal. It undermines the entire purpose of shareholder democracy. Rule 14a-8 exists so that companies can’t pick and choose which viewpoints they allow on the proxy ballot. The SEC has made it clear that if a proposal meets the technical requirements, it belongs in front of all shareholders. Period.
When two different conservative groups (our co-plaintiff, The Heritage Foundation, also had a proposal ignored) submit 14a-8 compliant resolutions, those just get “lost in the mailroom.” That proves our point.
It’s our belief that Airbnb isn’t trying to stay out of politics. They’re just trying to silence one side of the political spectrum. Our proposals were lost in the mailroom while a proposal from a left-leaning group managed to make it to the ballot.
That’s why we’re taking this to court. This lawsuit isn’t just about one proposal or one company. It’s about defending the right of every investor including conservative investors to be heard. It’s about holding companies accountable when they break the law to protect their political biases. And it’s about making sure that our money isn’t used against us.
We’re grateful to stand with fellow conservative groups like The Heritage Foundation, our co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit in this fight. We’re grateful to be represented by excellent attorneys at ADF and Boyden Gray. Together, we’re demanding that Airbnb follow the law, include our proposals, and respect the rights of all shareholders, not just the ones who agree with their worldview.
We know this case could set a major precedent. If we win, it will send a loud and clear message to every boardroom in America. Conservatives will no longer be silenced. We have just as much right to shape the direction of the companies we invest in as anyone else. And we won’t stand by while biased corporations break the rules to push their agenda and shut us out.
So Airbnb had a choice. We believe they could have engaged with us, followed the process, and shown respect for their shareholders. Instead, they chose arrogance and exclusion. That choice now comes with consequences.
The woke bubble is bursting. The days of silent conservative investors are over. And we’re just getting started.
William Flaig is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation and the Founder and CEO of the American Conservative Values ETF (ACVF). www.investconservative.com.
