Two recent market studies have placed Buckeye as a leader in home rentals and ownership.
The city ranked No. 1 in homeownership with nearly 86% of the population owning their home. It also ranked No. 2 of eligible Phoenix and Tucson suburbs for the best place to rent a single-family home.
Buckeye’s current population of nearly 114,000 is anticipated to increase to 193,600 by 2030 and 295,400 by 2040, according to data from the Maricopa Association of Governments, U.S. Census Bureau and City of Buckeye.
At a recent town hall meeting, Development Services Director Brian Craig said the city adds 2,000 to 3,000 new homes annually. In 2023, 1,965 single-family residential permits were issued. Even so, the city is only at 15 to 16% buildout.
HOME OWNERSHIP
According to an IPX1031 study, Buckeye was named No. 1 in the nation for the most homeownership, with 86% of residents owning their home. Port St. Lucie, Fla., took second with Rio Rancho, N.M., in third.
The study utilized Census Bureau data from more than 300 cities across the nation and evaluated both renter and homeowner numbers. Eligible cities were required to have a population of at least 100,000.
SINGLE-FAMILY HOME RENTERS
The second study put Buckeye No. 2 for the best places to rent a single-family home in Arizona. It was found to be the fastest-growing suburb in the state and ranked nationally for attracting more new residents than any other city in 2017, 2018 and 2021. Vail took the top spot with Tanque Verde and El Mirage tying for third.
The study was conducted by Point2, a real estate data source and division of Yardi Systems, which develops property management software. It included all suburbs within a 30-mile driving distance from the city centers of Phoenix and Tucson, excluding suburbs with a population less than 5,000 or those without available data. The participating suburbs were evaluated through ranking scores and weighted averages across 12 metrics. All data was collected from the Census Bureau except for single-family rental listings, which was gathered from Zillow.
“I think it shows that we’re growing right and we’re not just a single-family housing city anymore,” said Public Information Officer John O’Halloran. “We have some rentals coming on and it shows we’re balanced.”
Buckeye has 67 single family rental listings per 1,000 rental households, according to the Point2 study, with a median renter household income of $78,348, a 66% growth for five-year renter income. Of these residents, 23% are older than 25 with a higher education degree. The homes they rent have an average of five-and-a-half rooms.
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Arizona saw a 44% population increase between 2000 and 2023. The Point2 study found that Buckeye’s population increased by more than 53% in the past five years. Buckeye had the lowest population density, however, than any other suburbs in the analysis due to the city being less than 16% built out.
Neither study took into account Buckeye’s multi-family housing development. Buckeye expanded to 693 city-wide apartment units last year, according to data provided to InBuckeye by the city. These developments are more recent and are part of diversifying housing options, said O’Halloran.
“Multi-family always has a place and it’s an area we are really trying to grow,” he said. “It brings more options for our residents. We have largely been a single-family home city. And we’ve recently started seeing the interest in having those multi-family housing developments come in and we think that it gives our residents more of an option. Maybe that entry-level housing where maybe a family isn’t ready to buy a home yet.”
