Bob Thorpe: Artificial Scarcity & Why Arizona Land Prices Keep Climbing

Former Arizona State Representative Bob Thorpe joins me for a deep dive into one of the biggest—and least talked about—drivers of rising costs in Arizona and across the West: land scarcity.

We break down how much land is controlled by federal and state governments, what that means for development, and whether this “artificial scarcity” is quietly fueling higher home prices and cost of living. Using a map Bob discovered during his time in the legislature, we explore the tension between preserving Arizona’s natural beauty and the unintended consequences of locking up vast amounts of land.

Is opening up more land even realistic? Or are we stuck with a system where limited supply guarantees rising prices for decades to come? If you’ve ever wondered why housing keeps getting more expensive—even in a state with so much open space—this conversation connects the dots.