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Vacancy Rate

Description: 

Every 10 years as of April 1, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a census of the nation’s housing units. The housing units are specified as being occupied or vacant. The Census Bureau’s definition of a vacant unit differs from that of the real estate industry. A housing unit used seasonally is counted as vacant by the Census Bureau, though it is not on the market for sale or for rent. Similarly, the Census Bureau counts some structures as vacant housing units that the real estate industry would not consider a housing unit. Examples include units under construction that are substantially complete but that have not yet received a certificate of occupancy and hogans on the Navajo Reservation that are used only for ceremonial purposes.

Counts of the number of vacant units by the nature of the vacancy are provided for the following categories:

  • For rent
  • For sale only
  • Rented, not occupied
  • Sold, not occupied
  • Seasonal, recreational, or occasional use
  • Other (units held vacant for any other reason, including personal reasons of the owner)

The vacancy rate figures are presented on Arizona Indicators for Arizona and the 15 Arizona counties, with the focus on the 2010 rate and the change from 2000 to 2010. Additional data, for example for smaller geographic areas and for earlier censuses, are available from the Census Bureau.

Data Source: 

U. S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau. For 2010 data: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml. For 2000 data: http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html.

Data Quality Comments: 

The decennial census is intended to count all housing units. However, some units are missed. The inclusion of nontraditional housing units (for example, a recreational vehicle lived in by a household that has no permanent dwelling is included in the housing count but other RVs are not counted) varies somewhat from one decennial census to the next, which affects the census vacancy rate.

iconVacancy Rate, Arizona and Three Most Populous Counties

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iconVacancy Rate, Change, Less Populous Counties

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iconVacancy Rate By Type, 2010

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Visualization Notes:

The “for rent, for sale, or rented/sold not yet occupied” vacancy rate is similar in definition to the vacancy rate used by the real estate industry. The percentage of units in the rented or sold but not yet occupied subcategory is small, a combined 0.6 percent in Arizona in 2010 (and 0.5 percent nationally). In contrast, 4.2 percent of the housing units in Arizona were for rent and 2.3 percent were for sale. In the United States, the comparable percentages were 3.1 and 1.4. Thus the “real estate” vacancy rate in Arizona was a full 2 percentage points higher than the national average, a reflection of the depth of the real estate crash and recession in Arizona.

Other than Greenlee County’s very high rate, associated with a slump in copper mining, the “for rent, for sale, or rented/sold not yet occupied” vacancy rate in 2010 ranged from 3.2 percent to 7.8 percent across Arizona’s counties. The two counties constituting the metro Phoenix area—Maricopa and Pinal—had the highest rates (other than Greenlee County).

iconVacancy Rate By Type, Change, 2000 to 2010

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Visualization Notes:

The real estate boom and bust during the 2000s contributed to an increase in the “for rent, for sale, or rented/sold not yet occupied” vacancy rate between 2000 and 2010 in Arizona. The percentage of units for rent increased from 2.8 to 4.2 percent; the increase in the share for sale was from 1.3 to 2.3 percent. In contrast, the percentage rented or sold but not yet occupied was unchanged. Nationally, the increases were not as large, with the total “real estate” vacancy rate rising 1.2 percentage points, half of the increase in Arizona.

Despite the 2.4 percentage point increase in the “for rent, for sale, or rented/sold not yet occupied” vacancy rate between 2000 and 2010 in Arizona, the rate decreased in two counties and the increase was less than 1 percentage point in five counties. Other than a very large increase in Greenlee, Arizona’s least populous county, the largest rise in rate was in Maricopa, Arizona’s most populous county.