Tucson a Beautiful City
This according to Yahoo Real Estate and I believe it. I’d actually be shocked if it weren’t the emptiest city in the country.
Statistics are a mixed bag of information.
I’ll get right to it and not drag this out. Here are a couple other little statistical tidbits which might weigh on this designation.
- Tucson probably has more second home buyers than any other city in the country.
- Tucson has a very high number of Snowbirds that come here only in the winter.
- Tucson has a lot of homes that sit empty for 6 months out of the year.
Think this is hint enough to why Tucson would be America’s Emptiest City.
The emptiest city in the U.S. is the second-largest city in Arizona: Tucson. With rental vacancies at 15.9 percent, the city is seventh most vacant among major cities, while the 6.8 percent homeowner vacancy rate is the highest in the country as of the second quarter of 2011
Oh, second quarter of 2011; the end of the snowbird season and the beginning of Tucson’s Long Hot Summer. (We had 69 days over 100 degrees this year)
Homeowner vacancy rate is defined as The homeowner vacancy rate is the proportion of the homeowner housing inventory that is vacant for sale. It does not include snowbirds’ houses that are empty but not for sale.
iflygetzzz,
Not sure where you are getting your definition but here is the one from the Census data on Housing Vacancies for 2011
Vacant Housing Units. A housing unit is vacant if no one is living in it at the time of the interview, unless its occupants are only temporarily absent. In addition, a vacant unit may be one which is entirely occupied by persons who have a usual residence elsewhere. New units not yet occupied are classified as vacant housing units if construction has reached a point where all exterior windows and doors are installed and final usable floors are in place. Vacant units are excluded if they are exposed to the elements, that is, if the roof, walls, windows, or doors no longer protect the interior from the elements, or if there is positive evidence (such as a sign on the house or block) that the unit is to be demolished or is condemned. Also excluded are quarters being used entirely for nonresidential purposes, such as a store or an office, or quarters used for the storage of business supplies or inventory, machinery, or agricultural products. Vacant sleeping rooms in lodging houses, transient accommodations, barracks, and other quarters not defined as housing units are not included in the statistics in this report. (See section on “Housing Unit.”)
Dave
This information makes me think that there must be a big need for house sitters. I’ve been renting a house in Oro Valley this past year but am thinking when the lease is up maybe I’ll look into being a live-in house sitter. My husband and I fit the profile for the perfect home sitters – no parties, no pets, no kids, no smoking. Wow, we sound really BORING!
. We’ve renovated dozens of houses so we know how to take care of a house. Do you think there would be a need for this? Any suggestions on how we could find a homeowner who would be interested in this situation?
Deane,
That doesn’t sound boring at all, it sounds reliable. Off the top of my head I would suggest you put an ad on Tucson Craigslist for anyone looking for a house sitter. Then get your house sitting resume ready.
Also, do a Google search for Tucson house sitter and see what results you get. I’ve seen a couple of blogs written by Tucson house sitters.
Dave
Great tips! I set up a Facebook page and a little website, too. I’ll let you know how it goes.
My husband recently returned from a trip to AMARC and commented how deserted Tucson was. I thought his remark was odd but after reading your post it now makes sense.