There's a quote, "A house is made of walls and beams, a home is built with love and dreams." What if that house is built with a 3D printer? It doesn't change the quote, but only a handful of people in the U.S. live in these types of houses.

The answer to the Valley’s housing shortage is complicated, according to an ASU real estate expert.

Homeownership is becoming out of reach for more and more Arizonans. So Habitat for Humanity is betting on new technology to reduce construction costs. A family in Tempe will soon move into one of the first houses the organization has built using 3D printing.

An ASU real estate expert says he wouldn't put money into property in virtual worlds, certainly not if he cared about losing it.

An ASU economist says buyers could be priced out of the market but expects home price increases to slow as construction continues to provide new supply — making homes more affordable.

Since ASU’s innovative real estate education initiative launched in August 2006 with MRED, it has seen 406 students earn their master’s degree in real estate development in the nine-month program.

Phoenix was the nation's hottest market, registering a 33.1% price increase. It was followed by Tampa (where prices rose 27.7%) and Miami (25.2%). All 20 cities reported double-digit increases.

Because of the massive imbalance between supply and demand, nowhere in the Valley can make any legitimate claim of general affordability, causing metro Phoenix to be a consistent leader in rent growth in recent years.

Software isn't ready to take over real estate. Just ask Phoenix, one of the hottest housing markets in the country.

Carson Griesemer (BA Business Sustainability ’18) followed his passion for entrepreneurship, learning not every business venture pans out. Thanks to ASU connections, he's found success in commercial real estate.