New homes going up in a development in northwest Tucson, February 2018.
Tucson's housing market remains affordable, according to analysis by real estate data company Attom Data Solutions, but the market is continuing a slide toward unaffordability.
The company's affordability index shows it has been nine years since the area's average wage and its median home price have been this close to problematic.
"But the good news is it's more affordable than it has been on average historically, which is counter the national trend," said Attom Vice President Daren Blomquist.
Company data estimate home prices have risen by 5 percent in the last year, outpacing wage growth, which was measured at 3.7 percent.
Blomquist said one reason home prices are increasing faster than wages could be an influx of internal migration.
He predicts many of Tucson's newest residents are coming from housing markets on the West Coast, where they home prices are among the nation's most unaffordable.
"It changes the character, somewhat, of the housing market because of those housing refugees from the high-priced market that are able and willing to pay more than historically has been the norm in some of these more middle-America markets," said Blomquist.
Blomquist said affordability is becoming an issue in Arizona.
Attom gathered data on nine counties in the state. Pima County was one of three in which housing was more affordable than the historic average. The others were Yuma and Cochise counties.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.