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PHOENIX - Developers and homebuilders in metropolitan Phoenix are scrambling to buy property for dozens of new subdivisions.

The Arizona Republic reports that new home building rose 71 percent in 2012 over 2011 and that the number of available lots is dwindling.

The land rush is further evidence that metro Phoenix's homebuilding industry is recovering from its devastating six-year slump.

Homebuilders sealed nearly 100 land deals in December alone that will create thousands of sites for homes and are now buying more land in more moderately priced areas in the northwest and southwest parts of metro Phoenix as prices continue to rise in the metro area's southeastern portion.

The number of empty lots ready for construction has shrunk to its lowest level in more than a decade.