Arizona Groundwater & Real Estate Study

Decline in rural Arizona home prices projected with drought and diminished groundwater

New study shows decline in groundwater would likely reduce home values by up to 12%

Business for Water Stewardship has released a new study showing that declines in the state’s groundwater availability in rural Arizona will reduce home values and adversely affect buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals. The report finds that dwindling groundwater supplies will likely cause residential property values to decline by up to 12% in select rural parts of the state under severe drought conditions.

BWS commissioned the study with Southwick Associates who worked with local real estate professionals to estimate the effects of declining groundwater on housing markets in the Verde Valley (Yavapai County) and Upper Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz County) regions of Arizona. 

“Drought conditions do affect
home values. Part of the deciding
factor why people choose to
live here is because of the water
and the greenness of the area. If
quantity, quality, viewshed, etc.
are negatively affected, then that
will be a considerable reduction in
property values,” VERDE VALLEY STUDY
PARTICIPANT AND LOCAL REALTOR 

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